My Little Girl
by BelatedBeliever1127
Summary: Raph meets a mortally wounded woman who gives him a gift that changes his life forever. Why are people who are willing to kill coming after this little girl? How far is Raph willing to go to protect her? Rated for language and some blood.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! This is BelatedBeliever 1127, presenting my first ever fanfic, My Little Girl! Reviews are appreciated! Seriously, I would love to hear your feedback. I do not own TMNT, just my OCs, as numerous they are in this chapter. Enjoy!**

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><p>"Fuckin' Leo. Who the hell does he think he is?" Raphael muttered to himself, jumping off the ledge of a rooftop, landing neatly on the next and continuing his sprint across the dark expanse of New York City. He had lived the first fifteen years of his life under the streets of this incredible city and for the past five years, he and his brothers had been out here at night, protecting New York from mutants, aliens and all around bad guys, trying to restore some order to the world. For now though, he needed to get away from his brothers to get his head straight.<p>

It was bitterly cold in the city tonight and the first flakes of snow drifted from the starless night to dust the city in white. The middle of February was not really the best time to be hanging out on the rooftops, but here he was. The hothead was taking a long walk to cool off, as his 'wise' and 'fearless' leader had suggested he do in the heat of one of their standard midweek arguments.

He had seen Donatello quietly close the door to his lab as Raph had stormed past to get his winter gear. _Well, screw you too._ Trembling with pent-up fury, Raph had pulled on the winter coat, pants and boots that April had gotten him and lumbered out of the lair without a backwards glance at Michelangelo, who had called for him to come had heard Leonardo telling Mikey to let him go, which made Raph grit his teeth in frustration and growl deep in his throat as he climbed the ladder that led to the surface.

Part of him hated fighting with his older brother, but the way Leo carried himself and considered himself better than the rest of them really set Raph on edge. It was good for Leo to be knocked down a peg occasionally. He really didn't remember what they had been fighting about, could have been anything really. They fought about… well just about everything really. From the way Leo led the team to how he managed Mikey's constant shenanigans.

Raph had been wandering the rooftops for hours. He hadn't really bothered to clean up any of the minor messes that he observed in the alleys. Not really anything that required him to bust any heads. He was still tense and really wanted an excuse to get into a fight. He finally settled for sitting on the edge of a roof, watching the snow fall over the city. _If only every night could be as peaceful as this. _He closed his eyes, playing with the thought of swinging by Casey's apartment for a cup of coffee. Maybe a shot or two. _That might take the edge off_.

He could hear voices coming from the alley below; several gruff male voices, one terrified female voice. That grabbed Raph's attention. He peered down over the ledge at the scene below. _Aw, hell yeah. Muggers harassing a helpless woman… perfect. Just what I needed to let off some steam. _There were five of them and they had arranged themselves in a crude semi-circle around a tall woman in light blue scrubs. Raph's first thought was that she would freeze to death in this weather without a coat. She was hugging an awkward bundle wrapped in a light grey blanket and was frantically looking around the group of thugs. A very short man was standing in front of her, holding out his hands in a mock gesture of amiability. Raph supposed that he was their leader. _Clearly a 'B' team operation, _he thought with a sniff of derision. He was about to run to the fire escape to break up the confrontation when a sharp exclamation stopped him short and brought him back to the edge.

"No!" The woman had turned and tried to run. A muscular thug with a blood red Mohawk grabbed her arm and swung her back around, making her face the group of thugs once again. He gripped her tightly and she struggled fiercely against him, still clutching the grey blanket to her chest with one arm.

"Wrong choice, bitch," sneered the Dwarf, "Now… you're going to lose a kidney." The Dwarf's hand flashed in a steely arc. The woman screamed as the knife was imbedded into her side, then was unceremoniously pulled away. The momentum of the knife sent a wide arc of blood flying against the wall and the dumpster. She sobbed as she sagged against the thug's grip, his grasp unrelenting, so all of the woman's weight was supported by her captive arm. The woman hung in her assailant's grasp for a few seconds before she struggled to regain her footing.

"I'll say it one more time. Hand it over, bitch," The dwarf sneered, pulling her up to within an inch of his smug face, "Or are you wanting to lose the other one too?"

"Go to hell." The woman spit in his face. She cried out as he backhanded her, her knees giving way once again.

"You heard the lady."

The thugs, as well as the woman, looked up at Raph as he spoke. He blocked the exit to the alley with this strong body, his sais drawn and at the ready. Raphael got into a fighting stance, ready for whatever may come his way. _Rejects from the Purple Dragons' initiation…_ _no contest, _he thought to himself, almost disappointed… almost.

"Who the hell are you?" sneered the Dwarf. The other four guys gathered around him, armed with their guns and knives. The Mohawk was still holding the woman roughly by one arm, and she tenaciously kept her hold on the blanket with her good arm. Her eyes were wild with fear and pain as she gaped at him.

"Your one way ticket to Intensive Care. Who's up first?"

The Mohawk released the woman, who scrambled as far away from the group of glowering thugs as she possibly could. Raph looked over the ragtag group standing before him. Two of the goons, a tall, skeletal man and a short pudgy one, held handguns, and they were pretty sorry ones at that. The Mohawk got into a boxer's stance, ready for the first punch to be thrown. Raph smiled to himself. This was going to be easier than he thought.

"You just made the mistake of your life, asshole. Regret it while you still can." The Dwarf gripped a huge serrated hunting knife tightly, blood dripping from the sharp tip. _Did he take that line out of one of Mikey's lame comics?_ Raph wanted to laugh at the absurdity of this little man who was pretending to be a major mobster, but first, he needed to focus on the job at hand.

_First things first, disarm the gunmen._ Before either of the two could bat an eye, a shuriken flew through the air and embedded itself in each man's gun hand. The Porker screeched shrilly as his gun clattered to the ground, blood running from the fresh wound. The Skeleton growled in pain, also losing his gun. Raph seized the opportunity and lunged toward the Skeleton, sais raised. The thug tugged the sharp instrument from his hand, letting it clatter to the ground, and began reaching for his gun. Raph reached him first, kicking him in the chest and sent him sprawling back on his ass. Raph flipped up the gun with the toe of his boot and sent it flying into the open dumpster.

The Porker had retrieved his gun and had raised it with quivering fingers, ready to shoot Raph in the back. Raph jumped up and flipped backward through the air, landing lightly behind the chubby man and kicked him in the back. The Porker stumbled under his bulk and tumbled unceremoniously to the ground, whimpering in pain. The gun skittered under the dumpster and Raph knew that he wouldn't go for it again. He spun on a dime and delivered a sound roundhouse kick to the side of the Mohawk's head, who had been approaching him on his blind side. The Mohawk went down with a roar. Now that he had taken care of that, Raph turned his back on the man's stupid haircut.

_Now the loser with the chain. _The thug who was holding the chain looked like he was about to shit his pants. Raph figured that he couldn't have been more than sixteen years old. _New recruit,_ Raph thought as he stared the Kid down. His brown eyes widened in absolute terror and the chain clattered to the ground, utterly forgotten. _Maybe this will put him back on the right path. _He took a purposeful step toward the Kid. Raph had never seen a face lose color so fast in his life.

"Don't hurt me!" the Kid screamed hysterically, throwing himself on the ground and covering his head with his trembling hands. Raph looked down at him, almost feeling sorry for him… almost. Strong arms caught him from behind, pinning his upper arms to his sides. Raph threw a sharp elbow into the Mohawk's solar plexus, and as he doubled over, a large green fist made contact with his nose. Raph heard the satisfying snap of cartilage and the thug screamed in pain. Holding his broken nose, the Mohawk stumbled backwards. Raph leveled him with a solid punch to the side of the head. The thug fell heavily to the ground, blood pooling from his ruined nose.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" the Porker screamed deliriously, his bulk moving surprisingly fast as he sprinted down the alley.

"No!" the Dwarf hollered back, "We're all dead if we try to go back without the kid!"

"I'm not going to stay here and let myself get killed by Chuck Norris!" The Porker didn't even look back to impart his opinion on the leader. The Skeleton, supporting the bleeding Mohawk, shuffled toward the street and the Kid was tripping over his own feet trying to get away.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARDS!" The Dwarf screamed in rage as the four men disappeared into the night. Raph smirked as he spun one of his sais lazily in one hand.

"If I were you, I would follow your boys…make sure they make it home ok." The Dwarf growled with a feral growl and lunged at him, his large hunting knife extended. Raph deflected his attack easily, grabbed his wrist and pinned it behind the man's back. With a harsh jerk, Raph broke the man's wrist with a solid crack. The knife clattered to the ground and the alley was filled with the Dwarf's agonized scream.

"You broke my wrist, you asshole!" The Dwarf screeched indignantly. Raph shoved him roughly toward the street and the goon stumbled a few steps before rounding on his assailant, his eyes full of white hot rage at his humiliation.

"This isn't the last you've seen of me. I will find you and I will cut your balls off when a rusty saw, do you hear me?" Raph yawned and pretended to look bored. In actuality, this was funny as hell. The little man was trying to act and talk tough, but the tears brimming his eyes and the way he was cradling his wrist belied the façade. _Hell, if he pissed himself right now, it would be a complete picture. _The Dwarf backed out of the alley and sprinted in the same direction that his entourage had taken. Raph chuckled, shook his head and slid his sais back into his belt, concealed under his red coat. Raph rolled his shoulders and rotated his neck until he heard a couple of satisfying cracks.

_ Hehe, didn't even break a sweat. _He saw a slight movement out of the corner of his eye and suddenly remembered why he had jumped into an alley full of street thugs in the first place. The woman was sitting on the far side of the dumpster, her back pressed against the wall. Her knees were pulled up toward her chest and her breathing seemed labored. Raph strode over to help her up, confident that his winter clothes could hide him enough and keep her from getting too freaked out. She stared up at him with a mixture of confusion and horror.

"Who are you?" the woman gasped, clutching the bundle closer and stared up at him with wild eyes. Raph held up his hands to show that he meant no harm.

"Take it easy lady, I'm not gonna hurt you," Raph bent down to take a better later look at her. She shrank back from him nervously, her eyes still filled with horror. She was middle aged, closer to fifty than forty. Her dark hair, streaked with grey, was untidily arranged into a bun and her large thick-lensed glasses were askew on her long pointed nose. Her long, pale hands were trembling as she clutched the blanket closer to her. Raph's eyes widened when he saw the amount of blood running down her left side. "Geez, lady… I need to get you out of here." He moved toward her to help the woman to her feet. The woman's eyes flashed with the feral intensity of an injured animal. She lashed out at him with her free hand and he leaned out of her reach.

"Get away from us!" She spat as she violently jerked backwards into the dumpster, gasping loudly as she did so. Raph paused, his hands still extended. _Us?_

"It's ok. You're hurt, I just wanna check you out." Raph kept his voice soft and low. He wanted to make himself look as nonthreatening as possible. The woman still eyed him suspiciously as his hands went toward the zipper at his throat.

Raph took off his coat and wadded it up. The woman's eyes widened in surprise at his naked torso, but no there was longer fear there. It was almost like a giant mutant turtle was something that she could understand, even more than a New York City Good Samaritan. He pressed the wadded up material into her bleeding side, causing her to hiss in pain.

"Sorry." He muttered, "I need to try to slow this bleeding, until we can get some help." He looked into her eyes again. The fear was gone, even most of the initial nerves had disappeared. In their place was… interest, even intrigue. She was studying him like Donnie would look over a piece of Kraang technology.

"Thank you…" She looked over his shell and plastron, "…turtle."

"No problem, lady. I'm gonna get you some help. Can you keep this pressed to your side?" The woman looked from him to the grey blanket that she held, and she seemed to come to a decision. She balanced the bundle carefully in her bloody hands and held it out to her strange savior. Raph glanced from it to her and back to the bundle, unsure of what to do. The woman leaned forward to push it into his hands, grunting in pain.

"Please…" she whispered brokenly, holding up the bundle to him. Raph took up the blood stained bundle in his arms. Whatever was wrapped in the blanket was relatively light, about ten, fifteen pounds. It was wriggling slightly. Raph hesitantly peeled back the thin grey cover and started with surprise. Inside the protective layer was a baby, fast asleep and flushed with cold. She looked to be about a year old, with dark brown hair and creamy brown skin. Raph looked up from the baby to look at the woman. _Can't be her mom… _

"Lady, what the…"

"You need to hide her… Take her far away from here. She-" the woman grimaced with pain, her speech broken by short, agonized breaths. "There are people… people who want to use her… as a weapon. I've been there… since she was born, I couldn't bear… to see that happen, so I… took her away. They- " she clutched her side, then looked up at him, suddenly terrified. "Is she hurt?" Raph opened the blanket again and looked the girl over. She had little pudgy arms and legs and tiny little fingers that unconsciously folded themselves into tiny fists. She was sleeping surprisingly sound; Raph wondered why she hadn't woken up from the cold or from the fight.

"Nah. She seems fine." Raph bundled her up again. "She's sleeping awful sound.."

"I had to give her… a sedative before… sneaking her out." The woman said quietly, "I didn't want her to… give us away." Raph frowned at her. _Give you away to who? _

"I sneaked her out… of Genetech, but… I forgot about the cameras," The woman continued, her teeth gritting fiercely in agony. "They were onto us… very quickly. I thought we could lose them… in the city, but they… have some thugs on their payroll… They found me… and jumped me. I couldn't let them… have her. Not again."

Her face was so pale. She had lost so much blood… she needed to go to a hospital. Raph reached for his T-Phone that was tucked into his belt.

"No." Raph paused, his hand at his belt, just centimeters from the phone. "No hospitals. They will… find us there and… take her back to the facility. She… can't go back there. I won't let that happen." The woman looked at him with pleading eyes as she said this. Raph sighed resignedly.

"Ok, then. I'm gonna call my brother, ok? He always patches us up when we get hurt." The woman hesitated, then nodded once. Raph pulled up his T-Phone and dialed Donatello's number. After two rings, he heard Donnie's curt reply.

"_Donatello." _

"Donnie? It's Raph."

"_Raph?! Where the hell have you been?" _

"Just out. Listen…."

"_No, you listen. We've been looking for you for hours! Next time you leave the lair in a huff…"_

"**Donnie**! Just shut up a minute, alright? I saved this lady from some thugs, but she got stabbed. She's bleeding a lot and she won't let me call a hospital. I need your help with this. "

Donnie was silent for a few seconds.

"_I'm on my way. Where are you?"_

Raph told him the location of the alley.

"_We will be there as soon as we can. I'll get Mikey to grab my med kit. Shouldn't be more than ten minutes. Hang in there, Raph." _

Raph hung up the phone and looked back at the woman. "He's on his way. Just… stay awake for me, ok?"

She smiled sadly, hot tears running down her cheeks. "I'll try." She pushed the bloodstained jacket closer into her side, closing her eyes tightly against the pain.

Raph stood awkwardly, still holding the bundle close to his plastron. A gust of wind blustered through the alley and Raph was suddenly conscious of the fact that he had used his coat to staunch the bleeding. _God, it's cold out here… _He really wished Donnie would hurry with that med kit. He had no idea what he was doing. _And the kid…_ Raph was really lost when it came to what to do with the kid. He wasn't even sure if he was holding it right.

"So… what's Raph short for?" The soft question brought Raph out of his deep thought and he looked back into her tired face. She was still studying him with profound interest and Raph turned back to face her.

"Raphael."

"Raphael." She smiled softly, "I like that name. Do you… only have one brother?"

"Nah. I've got three brothers, and my dad."

"What are they like? Are they… like you?"

"My brothers are turtles too, if that's what you're asking."

"Can you… tell me about them?"

"My older brother, Leo, can be a real pain in the ass, but he's a good leader. He's gotten us through situations where I didn't think that we would get out of alive. He's kind of a dork, but has good instincts. Donnie is our resident geek. He's just a little younger than me. He makes our home livable and fixes us up when we get sick or hurt. Mikey, the little knucklehead, loves to pull pranks, laugh and make everyone's day a little brighter. He's the baby, so he basically gets whatever he wants. My dad is a rat. He took us in when we were little. He raised us and taught us everything we know."

"Especially karate." The woman said with a small grin.

Raph smiled, amused by the generalization. "Ninjitsu. I'm a ninja," he corrected gently.

"Huh… a ninja turtle… now I've seen everything." She smiled wonderingly. She looked up at him with sad eyes. "I envy you, Raphael. Your family… sounds wonderful. I'm sure that… they love you very much," She sat still for a moment, deep in reflection, "I never really had a family… and I've always wanted children. I got so focused on my career, and… it just passed me by," she admitted forlornly, "which is… probably why I… took such a liking… to Emma."

"Is that her name?"

"Yes. On paper, she… was known by a number code: GE0932. I… wanted her to feel more… human…" The woman's voice trailed off and she wiped her eyes with her free hand. Raph wasn't sure what to make of this information, so he pushed it aside for now.

"That's a pretty name. I think she should keep it."

Raph turned his back toward the chilling wind, trying to keep the cold from hitting the kid too much. The woman suddenly looked up, her face set as stone with a serious expression. Her deep blue eyes met his bright green ones with an earnestness that made Raph pay attention.

"Promise me…" She looked Raph full in the face, pleading him for an answer, "Raphael, promise that you… will make sure that she lives… and has a family… that loves her… and will take care of her." Raph felt his throat tighten in fear and grief. This woman was dying, and all she could think about was the safety of the little girl. Even though giving her to a complete stranger was her only option, especially a mutant stranger, she trusted _him_ with this responsibility. She needed comfort and reassurance, and she was looking to him. He choked slightly as he gave his answer.

"I p-promise. I'll look after her and do everything I c-can for her. "

"Thank you." Raph had never seen a greater expression of relief on a person's face. The woman's face, if possible, lost ten years of strain in that moment.

"D-Donnie will be here soon… He- He'll fix you up and y-you can give her all of that stuff yourself," he stammered desperately, "D-Don't give up. It's going to be ok." Raph couldn't remember feeling so desperate. He couldn't handle this… _She's _got_ to be ok. She just has to be…_

The woman leaned back heavily against the dumpster. Her eyes drooped, and she gave a soft sigh of fatigue. Raph thought she had passed out. _It shouldn't be more than a couple more minutes, then Donnie can take over._ Raph shook her gently, trying to get her to open her eyes.

"Come on, lady, ya gotta stay awake," There wasn't any response. "Lady?" The woman didn't stir. He shook her a little harder and she slumped heavily to one side. Frantically, Raph put his fingers to her throat, trying to find a pulse. There was nothing. No breath. No pulse. No life. He closed his eyes. _Oh my God. She's dead…_ How he have let this happen? His breath came thickly in heavy clouds of fog as he stared down at the large puddle of blood that had pooled down and around her leg. Even though they had been keeping pressure on her wound, she had bled out anyway. Now she was gone… and he didn't even know her name.

Raph spied the glint of a laminated ID card pinned to the pocket of the flimsy scrubs that she wore. He pulled the card off, straightened himself and scrutinized the identifying picture. She looked about ten years younger in the photo. Her hair was styled neatly, with less grey streaked in it. The large glasses were positioned perfectly on her nose and her kind face was lined with laugh lines and a genial smile. His eyes left the picture and settled on the bold name under the picture. **Miriam Verona CPN.** _Huh… Miriam. It suits her. _He felt slightly guilty as he remembered that he had not gotten her name when she had asked him for his. At the very bottom of the card was a company logo. A DNA strand, half red and half purple, and next to it was printed: **Genetech Laboratories**. He stuffed the card into the pocket of his pants and made a mental note to ask Donnie about this company. About who they are and why they would be willing to kill an innocent woman in order to get their hands on a baby.

_I'm so sorry, Miriam… _Raph backed up to the opposite wall of the alley and slid to his seat. He buried his face in the blanket, holding back tears of shame and sadness. He felt movement inside the bundle and pushed back the layers to peer inside the blanket. The baby was trying to wake up and Raph could see groggy green eyes blinking up at him from inside the protective covering. Her hair curled tightly and stuck up in random directions all around her head. Her skin was a creamy cappuccino color, like those hot, frothy drinks that Donnie would ask April to bring him from Starbucks from time to time. Her cheeks were a soft pink from the cold and she shivered violently as the chill hit her sensitive skin. He smiled indulgently and ran a finger over her chubby face. She struggled against the folds of the blanket weakly.

"Hey little girl." Raph whispered down at the sleepy face. "I don't know how much of this you can understand yet, but somehow… I gotta figure out what I'm gonna do with you. I can't keep you… you don't belong with someone like me. You belong somewhere, with a mom and a dad who are going to love you and give you a good home. I can't give you that… I don't even know anything about kids! You're in some kind of trouble, and it must be real bad if Miriam was willing to die to save you. I… I just don't know what to do." He sat there, shaking his head in confusion and despair.

Emma started to cry softly from the discomfort of the cold and the confining wrappings that she found herself in. Distracted from his thoughts, he turned his attention back to her. His mind frantically searched for the best way to comfort her. He rocked her back and forth, quietly singing a Japanese lullaby that Master Splinter had sung to the four turtle brothers when they were little small.

"_Nen-nen yo okororiyo suya-suya to oyasuminasai"_

Emma's crying faltered slowly, changed into a whimper.

"_Nen-nen yo okororiyo yasashi hito ni sodachimasu you ni"_

The whimper itself stopped and she stared up at him with those bleary eyes.

"_Kami-sama arigatou, enjeru mo arigatou"_

The baby managed to work her chubby arms free from the blanket and she reached up to him, grunting slightly. Raph, supporting her in his dominant arm, reached up and brushed the tips of his fingers across her small fingers. She grasped and held tenaciously to one of his thick, calloused fingers.

"_Nen-nen yo okororiyo papa no mune de oyasuminasai"_

Emma yawned and Raph's face softened as her large eyes slid shut once more. He gently covered her face again and tucked her arms neatly back inside the blanket. He nestled her protectively against his plastron, his head tucked in to shield her against the cold. Emma unconsciously snuggled closer and whimpered pitifully. They sat like that for what seemed like hours, the cold wind unrelenting in its bluster.

Raph heard the rumble of the Shellraiser before he saw it, then the hiss of the brakes and the soft 'ding' as the doors slid open and the footsteps of Donatello and Michelangelo as they jumped out. Both brothers were bundled up tightly against the bitter cold. Raph looked up absently as Donnie ran over to Miriam, dropped to his knees and started checking for her vital signs. Mikey hurried over to Raph and squatted down next to him. The vacant look in his brother's eyes terrified the youngest turtle.

"You ok, bro?" Mikey laid his hand on Raph's shell and stared at him with large, concerned blue eyes.

Raph nodded absently, focusing on Donnie, hoping against hope that he could revive the poor woman. He held the little girl against his chest, trying to keep her warm, though it was difficult to do in this weather. Especially since his coat was lying a foot away, soaked with Miriam's blood. The snow was falling more heavily now, coming down in large, distinct flakes. Mikey rubbed Raph's shell, trying to comfort as well as share some warmth with his big brother. Raph barely seemed to notice. Several minutes passed and the only sounds that can be heard were those of Donnie attempting to resuscitate Miriam. Finally, Donnie sat back on his heels and passed a hand over his eyes.

"Donnie?" Mikey asked, concerned by his brother's posture.

"She's dead. We didn't make it in time." Donnie's voice was subdued. "Shit…"

Mikey bowed his head in reverence while Raph stoically stared at the side of the dumpster. He was too numb from shock to feel his usual outrage at the injustice of it all. _There would be time for that later_. He took a deep breath and looked back down at the bundle in his arms. Mikey glanced down too.

"What's the blanket for, Raph?" Mikey inquired, his eyes flickering curiously over the grey folds of cloth.

Rather than answering, Raph pulled back the flap to reveal the baby's face. Mikey's eyes went wide and a big, silly grin spread across his face.

"Dude, it's a baby!" Mikey cried excitedly.

"What?" Donnie looked up from his med kit, puzzled.

"Raph's got a baby, Donnie! Can I hold it, Raph?"

"Her." Raph corrected vaguely.

"Can I hold her, Raph? Please, oh, please, oh PLEASE!?" Mikey pled, his large fingers intertwined in a begging gesture. Raph smiled sadly and handed Emma to his little brother. Mikey cradled her in his muscular arms and smiled brightly into her sleeping face. "Oh, aren't you just the cutest baby in the world? Yes, you are. Oh yes, you are." Mikey cooed at the sleeping girl.

Donnie rolled his eyes and finished packing up his gear. He rose to his feet and turned to meet the eyes of his immediate older brother, trying to read the expression in those bright green eyes. Those eyes, usually so fiery and intense were dull and full of sadness. Glancing over him, Raph didn't appear to be injured. He had maybe a scratch or two, but Donatello surmised that most of the blood he saw on his brother didn't belong to him.

"Care to explain what happened here, Raph?" Donnie asked, one eye ridge raised in perplexity.

Raph sighed wearily, "If it's all the same to you, Donnie, I'd like to do it when we are all back in the lair. Where's Fearless?"

"Right here." Leonardo jumped down from the fire escape over his brothers' heads. He landed lightly next to Donnie and put his hand on the genius' shoulder. He was as heavily bundled up as his brothers, wearing a blue parka, the hood pulled up over his green head, and heavy black pants. Leo looked sadly at the dead woman for a few moments before turning his attention back on his brother's anguished face. "What happened, Raph?" Leo was trying his best to keep his tone from being accusatory, just in case that would set Raph off again. Raph, however, didn't seem to notice, or care. He just pursed his lips and shivered against the cold.

"We need to take the baby back to the lair, Leo." Donnie stated matter-of-factly. Leo's eyes were drawn from Raph's face and settled on Donnie's. Raph was a little relieved that he didn't have to explain anymore right now. "It's twelve degrees out here, and I don't want to risk losing the baby too."

Raph winced. Leo saw noticed the involuntary action, but didn't draw any attention to it. He just nodded somberly. He watched as Mikey bounded back over to his red masked brother's side, clutching the little grey bundle close to his heavy orange coat.

"Hey Raph, what's her name, dude?" Raph looked up slowly at his baby brother's animated face.

"Emma…," Raph stated hoarsely, "Her name is Emma."

"Ok, Emma! You're coming home with me! I can't wait to show you my room, Ice Cream Kitty, Master Splinter, my comics, the dojo…" Mikey chattered excitedly as he walked toward the Shellraiser. Leo pulled Donnie aside and started whispering muted instructions in his ear. Raph stared dumbly into his bloody hands. The events of the evening plus the intense cold had sent his system into shock. Donnie nodded and removed his purple down coat, gently draping it over Raph's shoulders. He shivered as the sharp chill hit his own skin and rubbed his arms intensely, trying to bring some warmth back into them.

Mikey rocked Emma and continued his sappy baby talk as he stepped up into the Shellraiser, while Donnie dialed on his T-Phone, anonymously calling the police to report Miriam's murder. Raph barely registered Leo's hand under his elbow, gently supporting him as he got to his feet.

"It's time to go, Raph. There's nothing more that we can do here." Raph nodded dully and allowed himself to be led to the Shellraiser. Leo escorted him to his seat and made sure that he was secured before getting behind the wheel, just as Donnie pulled the door shut and climbed up into his own seat. As the Shellraiser pulled out of the alley, Raph buried his head in his hands. _What the hell am I going to do now?_

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><p><strong>Yay! The first chapter is done! I went back through and corrected some of my mistakes. Sorry if I didn't catch all of them… I hope that this concept isn't too cliché, but I am hoping to put more of a spin on it to make the whole 'Raph finds a baby' idea more original. <strong>

**Thanks for reading! Hope your enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! I'm back with a new chapter. I want to thank those who favorite and followed, as well as those who reviewed for your kind words of encouragement. I have to admit, it made me feel pretty good to see that people liked my story! **

**As I said before, I do not own the turtles, though if I did, I don't think I would have to be worrying about paying back student loans. Oh well…**

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><p>Leonardo had silently taken charge of the situation, partially out of habit as well as a feeling of responsibility. As soon as they had returned to the lair, Leo had directed Mikey to start some coffee, and had established Raph in the most comfortable chair in the living area. The leader pulled an old patchwork quilt over his brother's shoulders and tucked it snugly around him. He had left Raph's coat, pants and boots on, hoping that they would help restore his body temperature to normal.<p>

As soon as he had satisfied himself that Raph was comfortable, he had then pulled out his T-Phone, dialing April O'Neil's number. After four impatient rings, Leo heard the cheerful voicemail greeting, '_Hi there, this is April O'Neil. Sorry I missed your call, but if you leave your name and number, I will get back to you. _Leo left a message, briefly explaining what he knew about the baby and instructing her to bring supplies to the lair when she could. He had a feeling that April would know which supplies to bring, so he didn't list any specifics.

Raph hadn't said a word since they had left the alley and this worried Leo. He should be shaking off any attempts to help him, protesting that he was fine and trying to do it by himself. Instead, he sat quietly in the chair, clutching the quilt around him and staring straight ahead at nothing. Leo strode into the kitchen and poured Raph a stout cup of coffee. When Leo emerged with the steaming mug, he saw Raph still sitting in the chair, but his posture had shifted slightly. He was starting to get more relaxed, his face becoming less blank. Leo gave a little sigh, relieved that Raph was going to be ok. He strolled to the chair, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. Raph blinked, shaken from his distraction by the familiar touch.

"Hey Raphie. How're you feeling, buddy?" Leo tried to keep his voice light, handing the ceramic mug to his little brother. Raph accepted it, taking an experimental sip and smiling slightly at the comforting warmth it provided. He looked up at Leo, something resembling gratitude on his face.

"Doing better now that I'm startin' to feel my toes again."

Leo shifted guiltily on his feet, knowing that in a way, this whole mess was his fault. He had started that fight that sent Raph storming out of the lair. _What was it even about? _He didn't even remember, that's how pointless it had been. He brought his eyes back to his hotheaded brother momentarily before dropping them to the floor, ruefully.

"I'm going go talk to Master Splinter. Will you be ok here?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, Leo." Raph took a long pull from his coffee mug, sighing with muted satisfaction.

Leo hesitated, before rapidly leaning over his brother and throwing his arms around him. Raph stiffened against the sudden embrace, surprised, before relaxing and returning the hug with his free arm. "I'm so sorry, Raph." The leader whispered brokenly in his brother's ear.

"It's ok, Leo. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine, really." Raph felt his brother nod and give one last squeeze. Leo straightened and, with one last look at Raph, bounded up the steps that led out of the living area and toward Splinter's room.

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><p>Raph drained the mug and settled it in his lap, cupping it in his large, green hands. He was starting to feel a lot better now that warmth was creeping back into his limbs. His fingers and toes still tingled and he worked them experimentally, trying to coax the strange sensations out of his appendages. He wrapped the blanket more tightly around himself, his mind starting to work through the mess he had found himself in.<p>

His heart was constricted with grief and guilt. He still felt responsible for Miriam dying like that: alone in a cold, dark alley. He could still hear her soft, pained pleading, _"Raphael, promise that you… will make sure that she lives… and has a family… that loves her… and will take care of her." _He had replayed her dying wish over and over in his head, engraining it into his memory. By God, he was going to fulfill his promise, no matter what it took. He had to do it, for Emma's sake.

He found himself looking at his hands, His fingers large and thick and the skin green, calloused and cracked from the cold. He had been right before, he couldn't keep her… not forever. She didn't belong underground. _But, if there were people out there who were willing to kill to get their hands on her, was she really safe out there? _Raph stared blankly into his empty coffee mug, trying to work out a plan.

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><p>Meanwhile, Donnie had finally convinced Mikey to give up the baby so that he could give her a checkup. "Who knows how long she was out there in the cold? She could have a fever." Mikey had given her up willingly when the possibility that she was sick had arisen. He had then sprinted back into the kitchen to fix her a bottle of warm milk, ignoring Donnie's assertions that she would need formula instead of regular cow's milk.<p>

Rolling his eyes at his little brother's antics, Donatello carried the sleeping girl into his lab. He set her on the examination table before unwrapping her from the bloodstained blanket. The turtle genius looked over her to determine if she had sustained any injuries. She appeared to be unhurt, and Donnie sighed with relief. Emma stirred slightly in her sleep and Donnie smiled slightly. She really was a beautiful baby, with chocolate colored curls and a creamy brown complexion. _I wonder if this is what April's…_

He shook the painful thoughts out of his head. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand to erase the pricking tears that were forming. He turned to the battered red toolbox that served as a medical kit that sat on a bench beside the exam table. He reached into the top tray and grabbed an electronic thermometer. Nodding in satisfaction, Donnie turned back toward the examination table to find the small girl staring up at him with wide green eyes.

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><p>Leonardo peeked his head through the rice paper divide leading into his sensei's room. He could clearly see Splinter sitting in the lotus position on a meditation mat in the center of the room. A lit candle sat on a small pedestal, giving the ninja master a much older appearance in its flickering light. "Come in, my son," Splinter said quietly, keeping his eyes closed. He heard the eldest turtle's footsteps and the rustle of the rugs as he knelt before the old rat.<p>

"Master Splinter, we found Raph… We found him in an alley in lower Manhattan."

"Is he alright, Leonardo?"

"Well… sort of, Master. He's not hurt, but… he's in shock, and hypothermic. Also…," Leo cleared his throat, trying to choose his words carefully, "he had a baby with him when we found him. We had to bring it back here with us. Donnie was concerned that she was going to get sick or even die."

Splinter opened his eyes. If he was expecting anything, it wasn't this. He rose to his feet and strode purposefully through the door. Leonardo, puzzled, rose also and followed him into the living area. Splinter descended the stairs and swiftly knelt before his strongest son, alarmed slightly at his apathetic demeanor.

"Raphael," Raph looked up from his empty mug, "Are you alright, my son?" Splinter asked, his voiced laced with parental concern.

Raph closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Not really. I promised that lady, Miriam, that she was going to be ok. I told her that Donnie would be there soon and he would fix her. Now she's dead," He looked into his sensei's eyes, his own brimming with tears, "It's my fault, Master Splinter. I should've been faster getting to her. I should've called an ambulance, no matter what she said. If I had…"He paused and swallowed, his throat closing, "she would still be alive."

"What are you talking about, Raphael? Start at the begin-"

Master Splinter was interrupted by a loud, piercing scream coming from the direction of Donatello's lab. Splinter and Leo sprinted to the lab, Mikey and Raph at their heels. The four mutants stopped inside the door, staring in disbelief at the source of the noise. Donnie was standing in the middle of his lab, holding a screaming baby girl at arm's length. An electronic thermometer lay beside his foot, forgotten in the confusion. Emma's mouth was stretched as wide as a big mouth bass' and her cry was shrill and very, very loud. Donnie's face was confused and horrified all at once, his analytical brain working to find the answer to this unfamiliar problem. Splinter's ears were pinned against his head in response to the noise. The other turtles held their hands over their ears, cringing in pain. If the noise wasn't so horrible, the situation would have been hilarious. Nobody, not even Dr. Prankenstein himself, was laughing now.

"Donnie! What did you do?!" Leo hollered over the screams.

"Nothing! I swear! I was just taking her temperature and she woke up!" Donnie shouted back, looking back at the screaming girl, "She just looked at me for a second and started screaming." Emma, her face turning a deep shade of maroon from her efforts, paused for a moment to draw a breath and let loose a new barrage of screams. "I've tried everything! I rocked her, I tried burping her… Nothing is working!"

"Maybe you haven't been trying the right kind of stuff, bro!" Mikey cried out, fighting to make himself heard, "Let the master take over," he extended his arms, inviting Donnie to hand over the wailing girl.

"Mikey, take her, please! Make her stop!" Donnie pled, desperate to find an escape. Mikey smiled confidently as he removed Emma from Donnie's grasp and tried cradling her in his arms. Her scream faltered for an instant, then returned at full force, as she furiously wriggled in the youngest turtle's arms. Mikey shut his eyes against the relentless attack, and a second later, was holding her at arm's length again.

"She was a lot cuter when she was sleeping!" Mikey complained over the high pitched wail. There were no tears, just the shrill screaming. Mikey looked around desperately, his eyes falling on Leonardo.

"Here, Leo, You take her." Mikey proffered the wailing girl towards his eldest brother. Leo held up his hands, warding him off.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho no. I don't think so." Leo stepped away, waving his hands in a forbidding gesture. Raph stepped into the room, eyeing Emma with confusion.

Emma's large green eyes fell on Raph and the screaming stopped abruptly. He face brightened and she reached out to him, babbling slightly and kicking her round legs in earnest. Slightly dazed, Mikey held her out to him. Raph took her with trembling hands and held her up at eye level. She giggled, her little fingers feeling over his red mask. Raph chuckled lightly, and the atmosphere in the room lightened considerably. The three turtle brothers glanced around at each other in relief before staring with wonder at their hotheaded brother, actually playing with the human girl. It was just as strange as the time when they found that he was good with pigeons.

Raph smirked, his eyes fixed on the chubby brown face in front of his. "Hey there, little girl. You miss me?" Emma responded by grabbing Raph's frayed mask tails and tugging on them. Raph smiled, relieved that she had stopped screaming. He looked past Emma into the interested and slightly amused faces of his brothers and of his father.

"So Raph… How about that story then, huh?" questioned Mikey with big grin brightening up his freckled face.

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><p>Half an hour later, Raph was sitting in large easy chair once again, this time with Emma perched on his knee. She was looking around the living area of the lair with a sense of wonder, her eyes wide, trying to take everything in. Master Splinter sat on a corner of the old couch, gazing at Raph with wise, understanding eyes. Mikey was lying on his plastron, his head propped up in his hands. Donnie was sitting on the couch next to Splinter, keeping his distance from the little noise machine, still a little distrustful. Leo also seemed a little hesitant to get too close. He stood behind the sofa, arms crossed, his face set in deep thought.<p>

"My God, Raph…" Leo said, shaking his head in wonder. If they hadn't found Raph with a baby in his arms next to a dead woman in a snowy alley, he probably wouldn't have believed it.

Donatello had taken the laminated ID card from Raph and was studying it closely, noting that the same design on the logo was the same as the design on Emma's pajamas.

"What do you know about Genetech Laboratories, Donnie?" Leo asked, all business once again.

"Not much really. I think they do mostly genetic research. I'm going to have to look closer into it," Donnie replied, turning the card over in his large fingers.

"Leonardo. Donatello. Michelangelo." The three brothers' heads up at the mention of their names.

"Yes, sensei?" Leo queried. Donnie and Mikey glanced curiously at their father.

"Raphael and I need to speak privately. Would you leave us?"

"Hai, sensei," Leo and Donnie rose immediately, while Mikey stayed where he was.

'Come on, Mikey, let's go."

"Aww, man," Mikey protested lamely as his oldest brother grabbed his ankles and started dragging him out of the room. They got as far as the stairs before Leo dropped Mikey's feet and allowed him to stand up and follow Donnie to the next level that led to the other rooms in the lair.

At the foot of the stairs, Leo's T-Phone chirped. He unhooked it from his belt and glanced at the screen. April had texted him: _Got your message. We'll bring the supplies in 20 mins. April. _Leo clipped it back onto the belt and jogged up the stairs after his brothers and followed them into Donatello's lab.

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><p>"I don't know what to do, sensei." Raph said simply, as soon as his brothers were out of earshot.<p>

Master Splinter shifted into Donatello's vacated place on the couch, and signaled for Raph to join him. Raph lifted Emma easily and took the seat beside the old rat. Emma gazed curiously at the furry stranger sitting beside her, three of her tiny fingers in her mouth. Splinter's face creased into a smile as he ran his paw over the girl's dark brown curls. Emma reached out toward the rat master, grunting in her earnestness and Splinter gently lifted her out of his son's grasp. He supported her in the crook of one furry arm, chuckling her under the chin affectionately. Emma ran her pudgy hands over every inch of dark fur that she could reach. She seem enchanted by it and Master Splinter chuckled as she reached up to pull his beard. Raph smiled, distracted by the little girl's exploratory adventures and watched as Splinter tugged his beard from Emma's grasp. The old rat beamed as he set her in his lap, facing him. She sucked on her tiny fingers, once again staring him with her large eyes. He studied her face intently as he spoke again.

"When my beloved wife and daughter were taken from me, I also did not know what I should do. I came to this country, lost and alone, then taking this form…," He looked at his rat's paws, "Then, you and your brothers came into my life. I had a reason to live again."

Emma turned her large eyes back on Raphael and began waving her hands toward him again. Splinter smiled and lifted her gently, placing her back in his strong son's rough hands. She sat facing Raph, hands running over his plastron, fascinated by the assortment of chips and scratches on it.

"I understand that you are confused," Splinter continued, his eyes returning to his paws which were now clasped in his lap, "You were given a great responsibility and you don't believe that you know how to handle it," He turned to face his son, placing a paw on his broad shoulder, "But I know this, Raphael, you _will_ rise above it, and you will do the best you can for this little one."

"She doesn't belong down here, Master Splinter!" Raph shouted, frustrated and confused, "She needs to be up there," He gestured flippantly toward the ceiling, "in the human world, being with other humans. I don't want…," He stopped, shaking his head. Master Splinter nodded in understanding. Raph took a deep breath, trying to clear his head before speaking again.

"But for now… all I know is that she's in trouble. Whatever's going on here, it's big. I made a promise, Master Splinter, and I plan on keeping it. I owe that to Miriam… and to Emma. Until I get this figured out, I want to keep her close. After that, I will find a way to get her to a good family." He looked up into his father's wise face. Master Splinter bowed his head to him.

"Then you have my blessing, my son. When the time comes, I know that you will know what to do. Until then, if you come up on some… trouble, do not hesitate to come to me, or to one of your brothers. We will be there to help."

A rancid smell caught the attention of the two mutants. They wrinkled their noses and looked down at the source. She cooed and clapped her hands, obviously pleased with herself. Raph's eyes widened in horrible realization of what was happening. He looked back into his father's suddenly amused face.

"Trouble like that, sensei?" Raph whispered in a small, terrified voice. Splinter smiled knowingly, rising from his place on the sofa. "Wait! Where are you going?" Raph nearly jumped up after him, but Splinter held up a paw.

"Good luck, Raphael. I am retired from dealing with dirty diapers." With that, the aged rat glided across the living area, up the stairs and into his room, closing the rice paper divider with a sense of finality. All Raph could really do was stare after him, dazed. He turned his attention back to Emma, trying to swallow and finding his throat as dry as a desert. _I would rather be fighting a thousand Kraang bots than trying to deal with this…_ He rose to his feet, with Emma held out in front of him like a ticking time bomb, and ascended the stairs leading to the bathroom. Not for the first time tonight, Raph wondered how the hell he could have gotten himself into this mess.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody! I was off of work today (YAY!) because of strep throat (BOO!), so between sleeping and feeling awful, I decided to work on finishing up this chapter. **

**Thank you again to all who wrote reviews, they made me feel so special **** :) You guys are so awesome! **

**I still do not own the turtles… (sigh)… Anyway, enjoy! (I also don't own any of the brand names that I use in the story)  
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><p>"So Donnie, what can you tell us?"<p>

After they had been dismissed by Splinter, the three brothers had crowded into Donatello's lab, hoping to find more information on the mystery surrounding their newest houseguest. Mikey had immediately staked his claim on the best chair in the room: Donnie's swivel rolling office chair. He leapfrogged over Leo's back, diving into the chair with a triumphant laugh. Heaving an exasperated sigh, Donnie pulled up a metal stool, settled in front of his laptop and had begun typing furiously. He had pulled up the main website for Genetech Laboratories and was reading through the multiple pages, searching for vital information. Leo had opted to stand, pacing occasionally, but mostly leaning in to read over Donnie's shoulder. He had waited about five minutes before saying a word, giving his brother time to actually learn anything. Don turned on his stool to answer his big brother's question.

"Just from the ID card, there's actually not a lot of information. Genetech Laboratories is a research based facility; one of the best on the East Coast. According to their website, they do a lot of work on studying the human genome and mapping genes to find defects and mutations." Leo nodded and straightened as Don turned back to his computer screen. He scrolled through one of the webpages until he found what he was looking for.

Don pointed to a photograph of a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair, tanned skin and a very white smile. He was shaking hands with the mayor at some charity event. "This guy is the company's president and CEO, his name is James Kinder." Leo leaned in to look over Don's shoulder, intently studying the picture. Everything about the man was expensive: His clothes, his haircut, even his smile looked like they cost a lot of money. Donatello continued, "He's basically been the face of genetic research for the past ten years. He's provided the means for huge advancements in Alzheimer's research in hopes of finding a cure." Leo nodded distractedly, his eyes still on the picture. Something about the man on the computer screen peaked his distrust. _There's something not right about that guy._

Leo picked up the laminated ID card that Don had laid on the table and looked at the picture of the smiling middle aged woman with the large glasses. She looked like a very caring person; it was really sad that she had died that way. He understood why Raph had taken it so hard; Leo understood taking blame on oneself all too well. Some would say that he did it entirely too often. Donnie glanced up at Leo, then at the ID card. He tapped the card with a large green finger.

"This woman, who had Emma, was a CPN. That means that she was a pediatric nurse."

"Why would a genetics lab need a nurse for feet?" Mikey asked, lazily spinning in the rolling office chair.

Donnie instinctively face-palmed before glaring over his shoulder, "_Pediatric_, Mikey, not podiatric. It's a children's nurse."

"But that is still a good question: why _would_ a genetics lab need a children's nurse?" Leo wondered aloud. Donnie opened his mouth as if to answer, when a loud cry stopped him.

"DONNIE!" All three brothers leapt to their feet and sprinted out of the lab and down the hall. They turned toward the bathroom, where they had heard Raph's voice coming from. Donnie, having the longest legs, arrived at the door first and froze. Leo and Mikey caught up and peeked around their tallest brother. All three stared stupidly into the bathroom for a split second, before doubling over, clutching their stomachs in uncontrollable hilarity.

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><p>Raph was standing over the bathroom counter, staring at the open diaper that was laying underneath Emma's behind with a look of profound horror on his face. The diaper was particularly full, and the three brothers in the hallway could almost see the smell radiating from it. The footie pajamas that Emma had been wearing before lay crumpled on the floor by Raph's feet. Emma was lying on her back on the countertop, kicking her feet up in the air and cooing gently. She really didn't look too disturbed by the noise, in fact, she seemed just as amused by the situation as the three spectators in the hall. Raph's eyes left the mess on the counter and fixed on his brothers' snickering faces. His lips curled into a snarl and he whirled on them, his eyes flaming with intense wrath.<p>

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Raph bellowed. He absolutely livid, his face slowly turning a nasty shade of violet. Donnie and Leo had the good sense to back up a step, but their baby brother didn't pick up on the cues right away.

"Raphie, calm down, bro. You're around that stuff all the time. We _do_ live in a sewer, dude." Mikey said, biting his lip to keep the laughter from escaping again. He could almost see smoke curling out of his brother's ears.

"Don't you tell me to calm down, you little shit! You're not the one having to deal with crap here!" Raph took a step toward his brothers, itching for a fight. Leo stepped in front of Mikey, his hands held up in a mediating gesture toward his hotheaded brother.

"Raph, seriously, April is going to be here with the diapers and stuff soon and we can get you, and Emma, cleaned up." Leo tried to keep his voice reasonable in order to calm Raph down. Donnie's eyes flickered for an instant, which didn't go unnoticed by his either of his big brothers. All four brothers looked up when they heard the high feminine voice of their first human friend sounding through the lair.

"Hey guys! We've got the stuff!" Both Mikey and Raph spoke up at once.

"We're back here, April!"

"Don't come back here!"

Raph glared darkly at his youngest brother and tried to kick the bathroom door closed. Mikey slipped his foot into the crack to prevent the door from closing all the way. It bounced off Mikey's foot and banged against the wall with a resounding crack. The hotheaded turtle snarled at his baby brother and turned away furiously, glowering at the wall. Mikey stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at him before catching sight of their human friends.

April awkwardly walked up the stairs, protectively holding her baby bump, with Casey Jones attentively watching over her from two steps behind. He carried two plastic sacks bulging with miscellaneous items. Mikey smiled and waved genially, beckoning them toward the bathroom. Raph huffed an exasperated sigh and shook his head.

Five months ago, April found out that she was pregnant. She had been really excited by the news, but had to gently break it to everybody important in her life: Casey, her dad, Casey's family and the Hamato family. When Donnie heard the news, he had locked himself in his lab, staying there for several days. It had taken a long time and a lot of persuasion to coax him out. The guys had never seen him so upset, not even when they had accidentally mutated April's dad and she had blamed them for it. Raph was fairly certain that April getting pregnant was the final nail in the coffin when it came to Donnie winning her heart, especially since as soon as he heard, Casey had popped the question to April. While Raph was happy for April and Casey, he couldn't help but be angry with them.

Raph knew that Donnie had been head over heels for the fiery redhead for five years. It was almost like April had been playing with his heart the whole time, and that emotional rollercoaster, Raph imagined, must have been exhausting for his little brother. He had told Casey a long time ago that if it came down to it, he would be behind his brother. Casey Jones was still his best friend, but he made it absolutely clear that his family would come first. Casey was on the defensive, as usual, but he seemed to understand.

Mikey easily forgave the couple and worked hard to make April feel special, talking about showers and nurseries with her as well as color palettes for both. Leo was still a little frosty toward the couple, but he usually put on an impersonal face when they had to come around, carefully hiding any feelings that he might have. April and Casey weren't able to come by the lair much lately, due to their jobs and their everyday lives. The separation seemed to help distract Donnie, but Raph knew that it was more of a Band-Aid than a cure. He hadn't been blind to the fact that as soon as he had heard April's voice, Donnie had slipped away, probably back to the safety of his lab. Leo had noticed too and had gone after his little brother, leaving Mikey and Raph to greet their human friends.

The couple stopped short in the doorway, staring at the spectacle before them. Casey sputtered once and burst into a wild cackle, pointing childishly at Raph's predicament. Mikey picked up where he had left off and he leaned heavily on Casey as they doubled over in uncontrollable laughter. A feral growl rumbled in Raph's throat as he glared daggers at the two laughing idiots in the bathroom door. April glared at her fiancée and he went silent, shamefaced. Mikey caught the cue: don't mess with the pregnant lady. He clamped his mouth shut, trying not to make direct eye contact. April turned back to face them, taking the plastic sacks out of Casey's hands.

"Ok, you two clowns, that's enough. Go into the living room. Raph and I will be out soon."

Grumbling about it not being fair, Casey and Mikey stomped dejected toward the living room. April shook her head after them and walked up to the gruff looking turtle and the naked little girl lying on the counter. She balanced the two plastic sacks of supplies on the toilet tank before turning her attention to Raph.

"I've been practicing this, Raph. Would you like a crash course?"

Raph grumbled an assent and April quickly rummaged through the one of the bags, bringing out a fresh package of diapers and some baby wipes.

"Leo said her name was Emma, right, Raph?" Raph crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He nodded once and April glanced up at him, annoyed. "Look, Raph. I know asking for help isn't your strong suit, but would you rather me teach you or you have to learn how to change her the hard way?" Raph's eyes widened in fear and he turned to watch April as she gently lifted the Emma's pudgy legs.

Raph paid close attention to April's actions as she wiped and switched the dirty diaper for a clean one. _She makes it look so damn easy. _Before he knew it, the job was done and Emma was lying back on the counter, dressed in only a clean diaper with Dora the Explorer designs printed all over it. Raph thought she looked pretty damn cute. Emma squealed with excitement and waved her hands at her new friend. April laughed delightedly, tickling Emma's tummy.

"Take a look at these, Raph." April eagerly held up three brightly colored onesies, each colored in various shades of pink and purple. "Which one should we put her in first?" Raph considered and chose a rosy pink one with a picture of a daisy printed on the front. April beamed as she gently slipped the small girl into the onesie and sat her up on the countertop. She also pulled out a pair of white socks with pink lacy trim and pulled them over Emma's tiny toes. The little girl babbled gleefully, waving her tiny arms, her hands balled into little fists.

"Wait, Raph!" April cried, clapping her hands in excitement, "I haven't even shown you the best part yet!" She dug around in the bottom of the bag and pulled out a large bow. It was the same shade of red as Raph's mask, with little white polka dots sprinkled all over it. April fixed the clasp of the bow into place so that the bow sat prettily over Emma's left temple. April smiled proudly, turning the little girl around on her seat so that she could see her reflection in the mirror.

"There you are, Emma. Don't you look beautiful?" Emma squealed delightedly, reaching for her reflection with eager hands. Raph looked on, a weird sensation stirring in his chest.

"Hey, April?" April turned back to look at him. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it Raph," April said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "It's all stuff that I need to know anyway. Every bit of practice helps." She lifted Emma off the counter and handed her to Raph. He took her and cradled her carefully in the crook of his right arm, just like he had seen Master Splinter do earlier. Emma yawned contentedly and snuggled closer into his plastron. April smiled gently at the ease that the little girl had taken to Raph.

April rubbed one arm, subconsciously, looking at the floor before raising her eyes to meet his. "Raph… a-about Donnie…"

Raph's smile disappeared as he shook his head, decisively, "I really don't want to have this conversation with you, April."

He made a move toward the door, but April stepped in front of him, looking him full in the face.

"But we _need_ to have this conversation, Raph,"

He attempted to step around her again, and she again stepped into his path, blocking his escape. He exhaled forcefully in irritation.

"Look, I'm sorry I hurt him, I really am, but… I love Casey. I really want him to understand that," Raph gritted his teeth, not believing that she had the nerve to say this to him, "What happened… it was an accident, but it wasn't a mistake. I'm really excited to be having Casey's baby. I'm…" she swallowed, her eyes brimming with tears, "I'm just so sorry that doing that is hurting one of my best friends in the world."

Raph shook his head wearily and looked back at her. She looked utterly miserable. There were dark circles under her eyes and the tears welling up succeeded in making her look more pitiful. She wrapped her arms around herself, like she was in pain. Her stomach was distended enough to see the distinct bulge under her baggy blue sweater. Raph shifted Emma in his arms, trying to look anywhere but the redhead's desperate blue eyes.

"Are you saying that he wouldn't have been hurt anyway? You know how much he loves you…" he paused awkwardly, then continued in a deliberate voice, "How much he loved you."

April bowed her head, silent tears running down her face. Raph sighed resignedly and put a hand on her shoulder. She put her hand against his and looked up into his eyes, silently pleading for comfort.

"April, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told Casey. When it comes down to it, I've gotta stick by my brother. Whether you and he want to work this out is up to you. I know Donnie; he's not going to take that step. You're going to have to step up first. It's gonna hurt like hell, but you're both big kids now. You can handle it." April sighed deeply, nodding. She knew that he was right. She had to try to fix this... somehow. Raph quickly removed his hand from her shoulder, clearing throat awkwardly.

"So…," Raph started lamely, trying to change the subject, "What else do you have in that bag?"

April wiped her eyes and reached for the white plastic sacks and set them on the counter. She opened up the sacks and began pulling out the things she had purchased, naming them as they emerged. Raph stepped up behind her to look at the brightly colored items laid out on the counter.

"I got you some bibs, a couple sippy cups, baby spoons, bottles, socks, shoes, pajamas, of course diapers and wipes, pacifiers, formula, and a few jars of baby food, just in case." Raph reached past her and picked up one of the pacifiers, twirling it in his large fingers. Emma's eyes followed the movement and Raph pushed the pacifier between her lips. Emma looked surprised for an instant before sucking on the pacifier with intensity. Raph grinned before looking up into April's indulgent smile.

"Thanks, April. I'll pay you guys back for this. I promise." She waved in that dismissive way again before reaching back into the bag.

"Plus, I picked up some reading material for you," April handed Raph a handful of pamphlets on raising babies and young children. Raph looked down at the pamphlets, smiling with relief that he didn't have to guess about a lot of this stuff. He was about to thank her again when Emma yawned widely, allowing the pacifier to drop to the ground. April picked it up and put it in Raph's hand.

"You had better get her to bed soon. Though, you should give her a bottle before you do," April advised, stroked Emma's hair lightly. Raph nodded, picking up the sacks. He was grateful that she had done so much to help him with Emma, but that didn't change how he felt about she had treated Donnie. He murmured a soft 'thanks' before slipping around her and out the door.

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><p>April watched as Raph left the bathroom, carrying the plastic sacks in one hand and Emma in the other. His words were coursing through her brain: <em>Whether you and he want to work this out is up to you. I know Donnie; he's not going to take that step. You're going to have to step up first. It's gonna hurt like hell, but you're both big kids now. You can handle it. <em>She closed her eyes and put her fingers to her temples, firmly rubbing them in circular motions.

She had put this for far too long, and she knew that continuing to ignore the problem was going to make it worse. She needed to talk to Donnie, attempt to make peace with him. Whether he forgave her or not was up to him. If nothing else, she could make peace with herself. _I was a teenager; I was stupid._ She shook the thoughts from her head. That couldn't be an excuse anymore. Before her nerves could get the better of her, she strode purposefully out the door, down the hall and toward Donnie's lab. Her mind was made up. _This ends tonight. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! This is BelatedBeliever1127, back with a new installment of 'My Little Girl.' I am back to full health (hooray!) and school's out for a whole week for Thanksgiving (double yay!), so I have plenty of time to work on new chapters (triple yay!). **

**Thank you again to all who reviewed, favorited and followed the story so far. For writers like me who are just starting out, it is a major confidence boost to read your feedback. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles, nor do I own The Very Hungry Caterpillar (which belongs to Eric Carle). Enjoy!**

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><p>Raph stood at the top of the stairs, looking over the living room. Mikey and Casey were hunched over on the old couch, game controllers clicking away in their hands. Raph recognized the game they were playing; Mikey had waited for six months before he was able to get his hands on a copy of 'Call to Arms,' and now played it any time that he could snare one of his brothers into playing with him. It wasn't much of a challenge to him to be playing alone.<p>

"He's comin' through the hole in the wall, Case-man!" Mikey was calling out, desperately clicking his controller, gunfire erupting from his virtual assault rifle.

"I see 'im, I got 'im. Just keep 'em off my back, Mike." Casey replied tersely, raising the controller over his head and pounding it relentlessly with both thumbs. His tongue poked out of the large gap where his front teeth used to be; evidence of the concentration that he devoted to the game.

Emma cooed and waved her arms as she earnestly took in the scene before her with large, inquisitive eyes. Raph yawned widely, wishing that he could go to bed, though the weight on his arm reminded him that he needed to make a bottle of formula before either of them could get any shut-eye.

He heard a rustle behind him and looked over his shoulder just in time to see April stride past him with a purposeful step. He didn't even have to ask where she was going. His bright eyes followed her as she walked briskly around the corner and toward Donnie's lab. Raph shook his head after her, just hoping that she knew what she was doing.

Raph descended the stairs and walked through the middle of the living room, ignoring the sound of military gunfire and the indignant shouts of the two knuckleheads when he blocked their view of the television.

"Hey, move it, bubble butt!" Casey hollered, impatiently waving at Raph to move past the screen.

"Raphie! Move out of the way! We're about to take the fort here!" Mikey complained loudly, leaning hard to one side in order to see behind his big brother's shell.

Raph paused in front of the television for a moment longer than necessary before moving toward the kitchen. His arm was getting a little tired from holding Emma in this position for so long, so he shifted her weight to his other arm,stepping through the kitchen door opening.

Leonardo was standing in front of the kitchen range, brewing a pot of tea. It was incredible to Raph that boiling water was literally the only kind of cooking that Leo could do without something exploding, catching on fire, or both. Mikey usually was overly protective over the state of 'his' kitchen and usually watched Leo very carefully when he even thought about going there.

The eldest turtle looked up as Raph entered the kitchen, the little girl nestled protectively in one muscular arm and a couple of plastic grocery sacks grasped in his hand. He grinned in greeting and turned back to his cup, spooning some green tea leaves into a small tea strainer that hung on the rim. Raph strode over to the stove, setting the sacks down on the counter next to the chipped china tea cup.

"So, how did it go?" Leo asked, smirking in the memory of his younger brother's face as he stared horrified at the nearly overflowing diaper. Raph leaned back with his shell against the counter's edge, arms crossed defensively, his green eyes flashing as they settled on his brother's steely blue ones. Leo didn't even flinch under the withering glare.

"Fine, no thanks to you. April took care of it; showed me the right way to do it." Raph's accusing tone was interrupted by a sharp whistling from the kettle as it blew steam out of the spout.

Leo removed the tea kettle from the range, carefully pouring the steaming water though the tea leaves. He prepared tea just like he did anything else: meticulously and with the greatest of care. Lifting the cup to his nose, he inhaled the aroma deeply and sighing with contentment. Cautiously, he blew on the steam before taking a delicate sip.

Raph sighed audibly at the amount of time that Leo was taking in making a single cup of tea. The red clad turtle was sure that he could make twelve bottles of formula in the time his brother made one cup of tea.

"Donnie ok?" Raph asked, glancing sideways at Leo knowingly. The eldest turtle shrugged noncommittally.

"I tried talking to him, but it didn't do any good. He kicked me out."

Leo took another sip from his cup with an air of irritation. Shaking his head resignedly, he turned back to the plastic sacks on the kitchen counter, rifling through the contents with one hand and pulling out the canister of baby formula. Leo had drawn up a wooden chair from the kitchen table, gently setting his down his steaming cup.

"Hold onto her while I try to figure out this whole bottle thing?" Raph asked, turning to Leo as he held up the brightly colored canister. A bewildered look passed over the leader's face as he stared at the little girl. She stared back at him, a blue pacifier between her lips.

"Um… maybe I should…" Leo gestured helplessly toward the can in Raph's hand. Raph shook his head decidedly.

"I trust you more with the kid than I do with the stove." Raph said, deliberately holding his brother's indignant stare.

Leo glared up at him for a few moments, before sighing heavily. He held out his hands, accepting defeat. Raph dropped Emma into Leo's lap, the older turtle gingerly grasping the small girl under her arms like she was made out of glass.

Raph fished around in the plastic sacks for one of the baby bottles. He picked out a short one with a pink lid, setting it on the counter beside the range. Reading the directions on the can, he began measuring and mixing some of the powder in the can with some of the hot water from the tea kettle. _Just like making instant coffee…_ he rationalized in his mind.

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><p>Leo held his breath, waiting for Emma start screaming again. No sound came. Instead, she stared at him with those large green eyes, still sucking contentedly at the pacifier. He thought fleetingly that she looked really cute in the little outfit that April had dressed her in. <em>Pink's a good color on her.<em> He especially thought that the bow was a really nice touch. Leo visibly relaxed, drawing the little girl closer to him and holding her in a more comfortable grip. She reached for his blue mask tails that draped over his shoulder, grabbing them in her tiny fists and tugging on them ferociously. Leo's head jerked as she pulled the tails, and he gently pulled them out of her grasp. She was very strong and it took him a few attempts to succeed. She pouted prettily in disappointment, making Leo laugh in spite of himself.

"Hey, there…" Leo cleared his throat nervously, "I'm Leo… Leonardo."

Emma blinked up at him perplexedly before tugging on his leather chest strap. Raph snorted comically and shook his head at his brother's awkward attempts at conversation with the little girl in his lap.

"Leo, relax. She's a baby, not a foreign diplomat. Just talk to her like she's a person."

The leader of the turtle team allowed his eyes to wander back to his red clad brother's shell. He had returned fully to his original color, and had appeared to return to his regular demeanor, especially after the escapade in the bathroom. Raphael was still distracted though; Leo could see it in his movements, in his face. He was still deeply bothered by something. He _had_ been through a lot tonight and the leader's instincts told him to make sure that Raph was ok mentally as well as physically.

"You sure you're ok, Raph?" Leo inquired, a concerned note resonating in his voice. Raph sighed wearily, turning to face his older brother with a contemplative look glimmering in his bright green eyes.

"Yeah. I'll be ok. I just wish I knew why the fuck a corporation would pay a bunch of low level goons to go after a little girl. It makes no sense."

Leo frowned at his brother's use of the word 'fuck,' especially with Emma still in the room. She didn't seem to mind though; she was much more interested in Leo's tea cup, which she reached for with curious fingers. Leo gingerly pushed it out of her reach and the little girl cried out in frustration, slapping her knees with the flats of her hands.

"Whatever's going on, Raph, we're going to figure it out." Leo assured him in his most professional leader voice. "Maybe Donnie can get some surveillance in there, hack their files; do something to get more information on them." The leader thought aloud, his tactical brain working, trying to figure out a plan.

Raph nodded, turning back to the counter to double check the instructions on the canister. He felt the side of the bottle and dribbled a little of the white liquid on the back of his hand to make sure it wasn't too hot. Grunting with satisfaction, he screwed the pink plastic lid onto the bottle before turning back to Leo again.

"Why don't _you_ feed her, big bro?" The leader's steely blue eyes widened in uncertainty, his gaze flicking nervously between his hotheaded brother and the bottle he held in his hand.

"You sure, Raph? She seems to like you more…" Leo's voice faltered as Raph shook his head at him, chuckling at the worried look on the blue clad turtle's face.

"Sure, she looks pretty comfortable where she is." Raph offered the bottle to the blue clad turtle, who shrunk back from it a bit. "God, for a _fearless_ leader, you sure seem pretty scared of a little girl." Leo colored significantly at the barb. He snatched the bottle of his jeering brother's hand and wavered hesitantly. Emma stared expectantly at the bottle before crying out in its direction, reaching for it with impatient hands. The pacifier fell from her lips and clattered to the floor with a series of clicks. The sudden outburst seemed to wake Leo up from his uncertainty and go to work.

Leo propped her up against the crook of his arm, bringing the bottle to her lips. He smiled as she sucked tenaciously at the rubber nipple and reached up to support the bottle on her own. About a quarter of the liquid was gone before she finally came up for air. She hiccuped and a dribble of milk ran down the side of her face. The leader laughed indulgently and wiped away the trail of formula from her face with a large finger. Emma leaned back against his powerful arm as she finished off the bottle, issuing tiny grunts of contentment.

* * *

><p>Raph yawned and stretched a kink out of his shoulders. He was spent, and couldn't wait to crawl into his bed and sleep until Easter. As soon as the last drop of liquid was gone from the bottle, he took it out of Emma's hands and set it in the sink. Emma continued working her mouth on an imaginary nipple, not quite recognizing that it was gone. She blinked in surprise and glanced up at her strange guardian in mild confusion.<p>

"Ok, little girl. Time for bed." Raph lifted her out of his big brother's arms and rested her in a comfortable position in the crook of his arm. Leo was a little disappointed that she had to go, but thenhe spied the clock on the stove. It read half past eleven; meaning that it was most definitely bedtime. Emma stuck two fingers in her mouth, staring from one turtle to the other with wide, curious eyes. Raph's eyes opened as a new thought suddenly occurred to him.

"What's wrong, Raph?" Leo asked, raising an eye ridge with concern.

"How the hell am I going to get her to sleep?"

Leo blinked in surprise, apparently unsure of the answer.

"I don't know… read her a book?" Leo suggested, shrugging his shoulders. Raph sniffed derisively at him, rolling his eyes.

"Oh yeah, Leo, like I've got tons of those kicking around my room." the hotheaded turtle said sarcastically. Leo pondered for a moment before his eyes lit up with an obvious idea.

"Hang on a sec, Raph," Leo stood up and jogged out of the kitchen. Raph waited, stifling a wide yawn. It had been a long day and he was beat. Leo returned a minute later, holding up a battered hardback picture book, yellowed with age, the dust jacket stained and wrinkled with water damage. Raph took it out of his hand and glanced curiously at the cover for a moment.

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar?" Raph looked up incredulously into Leo's smiling eyes. Leo nodded in satisfaction, a wide smile plastered on his face.

"It was in a box of our old stuff that I salvaged from the old lair," he replied lightly, "You remember when Master Splinter used to read this to us when we were kids?"

Raph half shrugged in response, yawning widely once again.

"A little. I mostly remember not liking this one much. Probably because I was jealous that that caterpillar could eat so much more stuff than we could."

Leo chuckled knowingly. For years, all they had ever really eaten was algae and worms. The day that they had discovered pizza had been like the golden gates had opened to accept them into culinary heaven.

"Thanks, Leo." Raph tucked the battered volume under his arm, heading for the open door leading back toward the living area.

"No problem. Good night, Papa Raph."

Raph stopped abruptly in the door frame, tensing dangerously. He turned slowly, glowering darkly at his older brother. Leo drained his tea cup, unfazed by the look directed at him. He had seen that look so often over the years that it no longer intimidated nor bothered him.

"Let's get one thing clear here, Fearless," Raph's voice was low and fierce, "She can't stay here. It's not good for her. I'm just taking care of her until I can get her someplace safe… and if you call me 'Papa' again, I'll hollow you out of your shell. Got it?"

"Whatever you say, Raph." Leo shrugged, rising to pour him another cup of tea. Raph gritted his teeth in irritation before turning on his heel and leaving the kitchen, growling deep in his throat.

Raph maneuvered his way through the quiet living room. Casey was gone and the television was turned off. Mikey seemed to have retired to his room, where it was very likely that he would be reading the latest edition of 'Assault on Kronos' before going to bed. The light jn Donnie's lab was still turned on, which really could have meant anything. _Could be sleeping; could be working_. Raph had quit trying to guess a long time ago. Sensei's room was dark; which didn't surprise Raph because he was an 'early to bed, early to rise' kind of a rat.

Raph climbed the steps and ambled down the short hall to the wooden door that led into his bedroom. The door stuck a little on the jamb so he had to push it with his shoulder roughly to get it to open. He didn't bother turning on the light, feeling confident that he knew exactly where everything was located in his room.

Raph's bedroom was arranged in an orderly type of chaos. Raph sighed in relief as he pushed his door closed with his shell and navigated through the clutter to his bed, practically hearing it calling his name. He switched on the battered bedside lamp that stood on the little table next to his bed and deposited his sais carefully next to the lamp.

Raph settled himself on the bed, stretching out to make himself comfortable. He positioned Emma next to him, wrapping an arm around her to prevent her from falling off the side. She snuggled into his side, leaning into his plastron trying to get a better look at the book in his hand. He opened the worn cover of the book gingerly, half expecting it to fall apart in his hands. He saw his and his brothers' scrawled names written on the inside cover in pencil, smiling as he realized that none of them had spelled his name right, not even Donatello, who he had even gone above and beyond by writing both 'L's backwards. Smiling in warm reminiscence, he turned to the first page of the story, giving Emma some time to look at the bright colors in the pictures before starting to read.

"In the light of the moon, a little egg lay on a leaf…"

He continued reading, pausing every now and them to let Emma stare transfixed at the colorful pictures on each page. Her tiny fingers hesitantly reached out to explore the smooth texture of the pages.

"On Wednesday, he ate through three plums…"

Emma started putting her little fingers into the holes in each page. She babbled curiously to no one in particular as she was able to reach through the page and touch the one behind it. Nothing was safe from the perusal of her curious fingers.

"… one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop,…."

Emma squealed excitedly at the wide assortment of food, slamming her open palms against the pages roughly in her enthusiasm. Her dark curls bounced in earnest as she rocked, the hair bow dangling precariously from a single lock. Raph paused for a moment, allowing her to finish her outburst, then continued reading, flipping through the pages as he continued reading through the story.

"… and he wasn't a little caterpillar anymore. He was a big, fat caterpillar…"

Emma pointed, tracing her finger over the rolls on the caterpillar's large body. She babbled incoherently as Raph read, making it hard for him to concentrate on the words he was reading. He finally made it to the last page, barely noticing the large butterfly that filled up both pages.

"… he was a beautiful butterfly." Raph breathed a soft sigh of relief as he closed the back cover. He couldn't wait to get some serious shut-eye. He started to set the book on the floor.

Emma grabbed the book as it passed in front of her, trying to open the front cover again. Raph shook his head, trying to tug the book out of her grasp. She held fast and Raph had to pull a little harder to get it out of her tiny fists. She whined in protest, looking distinctly unhappy for not getting her way.

"No way, little girl. Raph's gotta sleep."

Raph successfully removed the book from her grasp with some effort and roughly dropped the book on the floor with an air of finality. He started to roll over to go to sleep when he saw Emma's pouting face staring up at him. Her large eyes were pleading and she pushed at his shoulder, grunting desperately. Raph shook his head at her, frowning slightly.

"I said _no_, kid. Now go to sleep." Raph said more sternly. Emma's eyes welled up with tears and her face screwed up miserably. Raph's eyes widened in sudden fear.

"Aw, no, don't do this to me…"

Emma threw her head back, opened her mouth and started to cry. It wasn't as loud or as shrill as the episode in Donnie's lab earlier in the evening, but it alarmed Raph all the same. He backed up from the tears, eyes wide, holding up his hands in defeat.

"Ok, ok, you win! I'll read it again."

The tears immediately stopped and the wide smile returned as if it had never left. Emma clapped and babbled excitedly as Raph reached for the book, picking it reluctantly up off the floor.

Raph grumbled loudly as he opened the book again, turning to the again to the first page. Emma gurgled as she touched the torn page and crinkly illustrations again. Raph sighed loudly before reading the familiar words.

"In the light of the moon…"

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><p>Master Splinter, as was his custom, rose early the next morning. He wrapped himself in his maroon robes and pushed open the rice paper divide that sanctioned off his room from the rest of the lair. He wondered lightly how the young girl passed the night. He guessed that she had slept in Raphael's room, since he had made her a personal cause. Curiosity got the better of him and he set off across the lair to see for himself.<p>

He navigated through the darkened halls and, with the stealth befitting a ninja of his caliber, pushed the door to Raphael's room open noiselessly. He heard a steady rumbling coming from inside the room. Splinter peeked in the door, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

He could clearly see his strongest son laying sprawled on his shell, an old picture book lying in a tent over his plastron. The tattered red mask was still tied around his face, though he usually removed before going to sleep. His mouth was hanging wide open, a trail of saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth as he snored like a freight train.

Little Emma was nestled in the crook of his right arm, snoring gently, not even remotely disturbed by the noise coming from the large turtle. Her dark curls were mussed and a large red hair bow dangled off of one curl. They couldn't have been a stranger couple, but they made sense together.

Splinter smiled gently, remembering the times when Raphael had sneaked into his room and slept with him just like this when he was young. With the same amount of care as before, he pulled the door to and glided back down the passageway toward the dojo. Leonardo would soon be there, practicing his katas like he did early every morning. Splinter decided that there would be no formal training today. Today was a day for rest and recuperation.

He thought back to the days when he was a new father and imagined to himself what sort of adventures the following days could bring. The old rat hoped that his sons, especially Raphael, would be prepared for all that was to come.

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><p><strong>As a teacher, it was kind of a given that I would include Raph reading to Emma. It's a great bonding activity! Also, The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of my all-time favorite picture books. My sisters and I used to write our names in the covers of our books when we were little, so I decided that the turtle brothers would have done that too. <strong>

**I decided to take the chapter involving the conflict between April and Donnie out of this story and make it a companion one-shot. It's called 'What the Heart Wants.' The conflict does not directly affect Emma or where I want the plot to go, so I took it out, wanting the focus to be on Emma and her story. Thanks everybody for your understanding and your patience with my random plot bunnies. **

**Thank you everyone for reading! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everybody! I can't believe it either, two chapters in two days?! It's madness! Anyway, I've enjoyed reading your feedback, so keep them coming. **

**I do not own the turtles, I only own the plot and my OCs. I hope you enjoy the chapter! **

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><p>James Kinder sat at his ebony dining room table, sipping espresso from a china coffee cup, waiting for his breakfast to be delivered to him. It was a beautiful snowy morning, the sun reflecting off of the snow making the day even brighter. He had dressed immaculately in a grey wool suit and blue tie, ready to take on the bureaucratic work that consumed his day; mostly attending meetings with investors and checking on progress in the three branches of his laboratories.<p>

The silver clock on the mantle chimed eight times, signaling the start of a new day. A little maid, a little dark woman called Mary, deposited the morning newspaper with a handful of envelopes on the table next to him. She floated toward the swinging door that lead to the kitchen, where a Malaysian chef was putting the finishing touches on Mr. Kinder's breakfast, which would be served right on time, as usual.

Dorothy Kinder walked through the door of her bedroom, looking through her expensive leather clutch. Her heavily shadowed eyes fell on her husband and she paused just before she reached the door leading to the main foyer of their penthouse apartment.

"I'll be late tonight, Jim. I've got to prepare for the Jameson homicide trial next week.

"So will I, Dorothy. I have a meeting with a group of investors after hours," Kinder replied dryly, shaking open the Times to read the headlines. Dorothy nodded stiffly to this usual excuse. It didn't really bother her; it was all part of the game.

"Alright. I will not wait up."

Her reedy voice was impersonal and slightly bored. They had had the same conversation every morning for the past seven years and they ran through the same recital with the practice of a pair of trained actors. She approached her husband to complete the final act of the production.

"That's fine, my dear." Kinder recited his line with practiced ease, rustling the newspaper slightly in his hands.

Dorothy gave her husband an icy kiss on the cheek. Kinder acknowledged the expected embrace and turned the pages to the financial section. He barely looked at her as she turned away.

The sharp click of her heels sounded through the foyer and the solid slam of the door announced her departure. _God, how I hate that woman, _Kinder thought to himself. If it weren't expedient to keep her around, he would have thrown her out on her ass years ago. When his pet project proved to be successful, he would need Dorothy's brother to introduce it to the Defense committee. It was possible that that would make it all worthwhile.

The darkly complected maid set the square plate with Kinder's eggs Copenhagen before him with the same reverence a worshipper would exhibit when placing an offering on a pagan altar. He turned his attention to the little maid, whose thin brown eyes stared at him expectantly.

"Thank you, Mary. You can start on cleaning the foyer now."

Mary bowed slightly and gave a little smile, meant only for him, and left the dining room with a brisk step. Kinder's light grey eyes lingered on the swaying motion of her body for a moment before turning back to his breakfast. He delicately cut off a bite-sized chunk and placed it in his mouth. The warm tastes of poached egg, smoked salmon and Hollandaise sauce danced across his tongue as he chewed and swallowed. He sighed in contentment, smiling to himself. He lifted the silver espresso pot from the table and refilled his cup with stimulating liquid. The coffee was delicious, and for the price he had paid for it, it had better be. Kinder raised the cup to his lips, ready to savor the heady flavor of the coffee once again.

Suddenly, Kinder's cell phone rang, the shrill sound filling the bright dining area. Frowning, he picked up the phone and glanced at the caller ID on the screen, not recognizing the calling number. Kinder decided to take the call, despite his intuition nagging at him to let the call go to voicemail.

"This is Kinder."

"_Good morning, Mr. Kinder,"_ the accented voice replied over the phone. Kinder's eyes opened in surprise, the delicious tastes on his tongue turning as sour as vinegar.

"Mr. Ambassador. What a pleasant surprise."

It was all surprise and no pleasure, but he wasn't going to admit that to the man who was funding the single most important research project in his laboratories right now.

"_I've been having a most interesting conversation with a mutual friend about a very important issue_."

Kinder blinked in complete shock_. It can't be… How the devil could he…?_ He took a deep breath, trying to keep his head level. _Calm down, Jim, this could be about something totally different._

"Have you? What kind of conversation?" Kinder tried to sound interested, but came off sounding guilty.

"_The project. The one that my government is invested in you finishing. I was told that there was an… incident at your facility last evening."_

Kinder was silent for a time, sighing in despair. This was the disaster that he had been hoping to avoid. When there was no response for a full minute, the rich tones of the ambassador asked in a quiet voice, "_What exactly happened there, Mr. Kinder?"_

Kinder closed his eyes, dreading where the rest of this conversation was going to go.

"One of my employees… took the test subject from the facility," Kinder started slowly, trying to find the most delicate terms to be able to explain away the situation, "My partner sent out a response team to bring her back. Things got… out of hand."

"_Out of hand? Your 'response team' killed a woman and left her in the street. The child, the test subject, is missing; kidnapped by a psychopath. I should _say_ that things got out of hand, Mr. Kinder_." The voice on the phone finally showed some signs of losing its temper. Kinder could almost see the face of the little man on the line trying to get his composure back. He started talking while he had the advantage of silence on his side.

"The situation is fairly contained, Mr. Ambassador," the businessman assured quickly, though the assurances sounded lame in his ears, "The child is the only missing link to the success of the project and we are doing everything that we can in order to get her back. You have _nothing_ to worry about, sir."

"_What would happen if this project were traced back to my office? How would it look in the newspapers that my government was involved in this?"_ The thick voice was outwardly calm, hiding what Kinder assumed was a potentially violent storm.

"There is nothing to tie you to the project. You have my absolute assurances on this."

This was statement was partially true: the paper trail that led back to the embassy was minimal and very complex. It would take a serious and very diligent effort to even begin to make the connections.

"_I am not sure that it is in my best interest to believe you."_

Kinder could not believe that this could be happening to him. Somehow, there was a mole in the operation. He had gotten in touch with the ambassador and had told him everything. The bastard had probably gotten a pretty penny for it too. Now, the entire operation was fucked up because the ambassador believed that the project was a lost cause. He was going to retract his money and abandon Kinder when he was so close to succeeding. He couldn't let that happen; somehow, he _had_ to make it work. He barely heard the ambassador's next thought coming through the receiver.

"_My government has provided you a substantial amount of funding for the research and development of the serum, you know."_

"I am quite aware of that, Mr. Ambassador." Kinder replied quietly, his hand tightening around the cell phone.

"_I am moving up the time table for results. You have one year to deliver the child to us."_

Kinder stood abruptly from the table, knocking over his chair and rattling the china plates. His hands shook with nervous tension and indignation. The color draining from his face in terror, only to return with a vengeance in a rush of maroon to his face and neck.

"That's impossible! I need five years minimum! The child needs training and that that will take at least three in itself, even for the basics!" He was basically shouting into the phone at this point. Mary looked up curiously from her ministrations with the vacuum cleaner in the foyer. Kinder glared at her coldly and she scurried away, allowing the vacuum cleaner handle to fall to the ground in her haste. He turned away from the door, gritting his teeth in frustration and fear.

"Please, I just need some more time, Mr. Ambassador," Kinder heard himself begging and hated himself for it. He shouldn't be groveling in the dirt. It was this asshole who should be the one groveling while Kinder pushed _his_ nose into the dirt.

"_The president is pressing me to provide him with results _now_. Since there is pressure on _me_, there is pressure on _you_. I need proof that you are doing what we have asked of you."_

"Mr. Ambassador, I _can't_ give you results that I don't _have_. The girl is the evidence of the results, and she needs refinement and training to prepare her for what you want her to do." Kinder explained desperately, running his hand through his hair frantically.

He paced the floor with a nervous energy, his brain working feverishly. _What if it all goes to shit right here? What will I do then? _The ambassador continued, a new thought seeming to take control of the conversation.

"_Why are you only sending us one girl? Why not send us a whole army of them?" _The ambassador sounded impatient and condescending all at once. The businessman had the sudden urge to tell the little diplomat to go fuck himself and hang up the phone. He struggled to push the urge away and to keep himself under control.

Kinder pinched the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger before answering. The man clearly didn't understand what he was asking; his tiny brain probably wouldn't be able to comprehend what was happening in the laboratories.

"The reason that we are only going to be sending you one girl is that she is all that we have to offer," Kinder explained, weariness creeping into his voice, "We administered the serum to eighty developing fetuses when we completed it; this little girl was the only one to survive the procedure. We are doing tests and research on her DNA as to see what makes her system different from the others. Once we know what about her DNA is compatible with the makeup of the serum, we can screen embryos and only modify the ones that are compatible."

"_Is there _any_ way that you make the serum ready to administer to my country's troops? That way, we do not have to spend billions of your dollars to 'make' these children."_

Kinder wanted to scream in frustration. What the ambassador was asking had been a problem that he had been trying to overcome for almost a year and the answer was just as obscure then as it was at this moment.

"There is no way to do that. When we administered the serum to an adult male, the results were devastating. It eroded his system from the inside out, basically turning him into a puddle of mush. The only way that we got any results at all was when we administered it to human embryos."

"_So, what _should_ I be expecting, Mr. Kinder? I do not want my citizens' hard earned tax money to be wasted…"_

The ambassador's forcefully patient tone gritted against Kinder's already raw nerves. It took every ounce of willpower that he had in order to keep his voice level and controlled as he gave his response.

"We are searching the city, looking for the girl and for the son of a bitch who has her. You _will _have the girl _and_ the security of your party secured within the next five to seven years. That is the most reasonable offer that I can give you right now."

There was a long silence on the phone. Kinder held his breath, ashamed that there was a person in the world who had the means to keep a hold over him. There shouldn't be such a man. _He_ should be that man, and one day, he _would_ be that man. He was determined. He wanted it so badly, he could almost taste it.

"_Very well, Mr. Kinder, though I would feel better about sending two of my best men to help with the search and to make sure that all is going according to plan."_

Kinder closed his eyes and sighed heavily in irritation. _Just what I needed. A couple of rookies getting mixed up in my operation. _He swallowed hard, forcing his voice to be pleasant.

"If that pleases you, Mr. Ambassador. You will need to send them to my partner, Hank Leon. He will bring them up to speed on the situation and they will be reporting directly to him."

"_Very well. Please inform him that Mr. Liu and Ms. Kowalski will be calling on him within the hour."_

"I will do that. Thank you, sir."

"_You had better get this taken care of, Mr. Kinder,"_ The ambassador warned carefully, his rich voice dripping like honey, though to Kinder it seemed more like venom, _"Otherwise, there is a strong possibility that any current and future funding for your research will cease abruptly._

Kinder hung up his cell phone, laying it on the table. He slowly lifted the coffee cup, now stone cold, and stared at the contents, boiling inside with furious shame.

If there was one thing that that enraged Kinder, it was feeling powerless. He had spent years getting to the position where he was, and now he was still being held by the balls by a foreign diplomat because he needed his money to complete his research. With a roar of frustrated fury, he threw the cup against the wall. It shattered into a million tiny shards, coating the lower part of the wall in cold black espresso.

Mary scurried into the room, her eyes dark with concern as she stared at her employer and the mess on the wall.

"Mr. Kinder, are you alright? I heard…"

"GET OUT!" Kinder screeched, all pretense of composure abandoned in his fury.

She squeaked with fear and hurried out of the room, her short black dress swishing around her stockinged legs, black heels clicking on the tiled floor as she ran. Kinder breathed heavily, trying to clear his mind. _Get it together, Jim. At least he still wants to do business. All we have to do it put up with his cronies for a while until we get the girl back._

Kinder slicked back his hair with trembling fingers, trying to get his breathing back under control. He reached for his phone again, dialing his partner's cell number. Leon needed to be informed, at least so he would be ready when Liu and Kowalski showed up. For now, kid gloves needed to be worn in order to keep the ambassador happy. Without him, there would be nothing. Leon would understand that. The line rang three times before the familiar gruff voice of Kinder's oldest friend answered the phone.

"_Leon."_

"Hank, this is Jim. We've got a situation…"

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><p><strong>I felt like it was about time I provided a little exposition into the story as to why Emma was such a big deal. Keep on being awesome, all of you fantastic readers out there!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everybody! Whoa… I've forgotten how hectic finals week can be. To cope with the stress, I have been writing on my study breaks. I'll be glad when I am done with college for good :) **

**I do not own the turtles. I only own the story and the OCs. Enjoy!**

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><p>Raph awoke from his deep sleep, blearily blinking his eyes. <em>Whoa, what a crazy dream… though not as weird as the one with those goddamned colorful beavers. <em>He put a large hand over his face and realized that he had forgotten to take off his mask. _Damn, I must have been tired… _He slid his hand roughly down his face before opening his eyes.

Emma was sitting straight up on his plastron, still dressed in the pink onesie with the daisy printed on the chest. Her dark curls were haphazardly sticking out in all directions, making her look a little like she had stuck one of her tiny fingers into an electrical socket. She smiled broadly down on him and chirped excitedly when she saw that he was awake.

"AHH!" Raph screeched shrilly in surprise, falling off the side of the bed and propelling Emma into the air. His ninja reflexes kicked in and he caught her before she hit the ground. They landed in a pile of blankets and bodies, Raph panting heavily as he tried to recover from the shock.

Emma laughed hysterically, clapping in earnest. Raph chuckled as he sat up, the adrenaline still rushing through his system. His stomach growled loudly, reminding him that the last time he had eaten was yesterday at lunch. In spite of himself, he blushed as the little girl giggled at the sound.

"Hungry, little girl?" Raph asked her gently, holding her up in his large hands in order to get a better look at her.

She squealed loudly with approval and waved her hands in his face. He smiled and picked himself up off the floor, cradling the small girl in one arm. A minute later, the two of them had untangled themselves from the pile of blankets and were loping toward the kitchen. Raph could smell the heady aroma of strong coffee and the sweet smell of pastry drifting toward him as he stepped through the door.

Mikey was flipping pancakes at the stovetop with all the confidence of a master chef, while Donnie sat at the table, looking like one of the undead. A steaming mug of black coffee was grasped tightly in one hand. Apparently, the coffee hadn't quite taken effect on him yet. _Must still be on the first cup. _Mikey heard Raph's footsteps and beamed over his shoulder at the pair of newcomers.

"Look what Donnie made last night, Raph!" Mikey pointed the spatula at a bulky high chair that was positioned next to the table. The legs were welded steel and the tray was sturdy tin. The seat was made from a repurposed grey car seat, overstuffed to be more comfortable. Emma stared wonderingly at the tall grey structure, her lips pursed into an 'O'.

Raph smirked at his genius brother, who slightly raised his coffee mug in acknowledgement. There was a mutual understanding between the brothers: allow Donnie to finish his coffee before engaging in any serious conversation. A turtle could get hurt if the tried to talk to him too early.

Suppressing a muffled yawn, Leonardo appeared in the door, muttering a short salutation before making a beeline for the range to turn the heat on under his kettle. Mikey shifted slightly to allow Leo access to the stove, while still having enough room to flip two more flapjacks high in the air and catching them effortlessly in the skillet again.

The plastic sacks of baby supplies were still sitting where Raph had left it on the counter the night before. Raph slipped Emma behind the metal tray and into the stuffed grey seat of the high chair before walking purposefully to the counter in order to find something for Emma to eat. He rummaged through the sacks, pushing the clothes and socks out of the way as he searched for the baby food and a spoon.

Emma shifted uncomfortably in her seat and mewed sourly with a singularly displeased look on her face. Raph looked at her, puzzled, before turning back to rifle through the contents of the sack again. He picked up the first jar of baby food that he saw: carrots and peas, and deposited it onto the table directly in front of the high chair tray. Drawing up a chair to the table, Raph secured the bib around Emma's neck and twisted open the lid of the glass jar.

He heaped the small spoon with orange mush and held it up to Emma's small mouth. She pursed her lips firmly, shaking her head stubbornly at the offering. Raph blinked at her with some surprise, very confused by her refusal.

"Come on, kid. You gotta eat." He proffered the spoon toward her again and she turned her head deliberately away.

"Emma…" Raph intoned warningly, a frown creasing his brow. He tried pushing the spoon between her lips. She just pinched them closer together in stiff opposition, allowing the mushy carrots to spill over her lips and chin. A huff of irritation escaped from Raph as he dipped back into the jar and held it out to her once again.

Emma unexpectedly flung out her hand and knocked the spoon from Raph's grasp. The tiny spoon went flying, splattering the astonished turtle with orange goop. He jumped to his feet, jarring the high chair tray and dropping the half-empty jar onto the floor. It cracked and broke into several large pieces, sending splotches of baby food flying over the floor and chair legs.

"Fuck!" Raph cried out in exasperation, wiping pureed carrot out of his eyes. Emma's lower lip trembled petulantly as she stared up at him. All eyes in the room were fixed on Raph, who stood glowering indignantly at the broken jar on the floor, mushy carrots glopped on his face and plastron. He could feel his temper rising and he gritted his teeth as he slammed his fist onto the table in reaction.

"Hey, Raph?"

"What?!" Raph whirled on Mikey, his teeth bared like an angry wolf. Mikey took a step backwards before swallowing hard and holding up a plate with pieces of cut up pancake sheepishly. Raph looked defensively from the plate to the innocent face of his baby brother.

"Wanna try this? She might like…"

"Get that thing out of my face!" Raph knocked the plate from Mikey's fingers. Porcelain shards skittered across the floor as the plate shattered. Raph advanced on his little brother, the urge to release some steam by beating someone up overwhelming him. The orange clad prankster backed up from his hotheaded brother, rattled and confused, until his shell pressed into the kitchen counter.

"I was just trying to help…" Mikey pled in a quiet voice, his eyes brimming in frightened tears.

Donnie's eyes widened as he rose from his seat, concerned that Raph would do something rash. Leo was on his feet in an instant and immediately inserted himself between Raph and Mikey. He pushed his hotheaded brother away from the frightened youngest, holding his shoulders and looking into his fiery green eyes. The leader's face was set and his posture was unforgiving; unwilling to give an inch.

"Back off, Raph." Leo said in a dangerous voice, as Mikey skirted around Leo's shell and took refuge behind Donnie. Raph breathed heavily like a charging bull, trying to fight back the red haze surrounding his vision. Turning his head away from his oldest brother, he took a deep breath. The first thing he saw as his vision cleared was the state of the kitchen. There was orange goop, broken glass and porcelain and pancake bits strewn across the floor. He looked up toward his younger brothers and saw the frightened look in Mikey's eyes. A wave of shame washed over him. _He really was only trying to help. You jackass…_

Raph's eyes traveled back toward the highchair. Emma didn't look scared, nor was she crying like he had expected. Confusion was what clouded her green eyes, as if she were trying to figure out why everyone looked so unhappy. Her mouth, lined with orange mush, hung slightly open as she stared back at him. Raph swallowed and looked away, ashamed at his tempestuous outburst. _Why can't I control my damn temper? _

"I… need some air… or something." Shaking out of Leo's grasp, he backed toward the door, turning away so that his brothers wouldn't see the tears of shame starting to form in his eyes.

Leo opened his mouth to call him back, but someone else's tiny voice sounded first.

"Da!"

All four turtles stopped and looked toward the metal high chair. Emma was reaching desperately toward Raph, little fingers working in her earnestness.

"Da, da, da!" she said, waving her hands again, looking sadly in Raph's direction.

Raph blinked in surprise, not sure what to make of this. Without looking at his brothers, he walked back over to the high chair and pulled Emma out from the confines of the high chair tray. Lifting her up to eye level, Raph smiled softly into her eyes. Her face broke into an enormous smile and she grabbed his cheeks zealously.

"Da, da. Da, da, da." Emma ran her messy fingers over his mask, leaving trails of carrot mush on his face. Raph laughed loudly and easily, not seeming to mind the mess now. He tossed her into the air and was rewarded by a sudden squeal of excitement.

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><p>The three brothers watched the show with a sense of awe. This was a side to their hotheaded brother that they had rarely seen and seeing it in such a scenario was surreal. Mikey suppressed a strong urge to tease his brother for being so adorable. Leonardo grinned, admiring Raph's ease in his role of protector and friend to this little girl. Donatello looked over his older brother's face, realizing now where he had seen that smile before. Raph had expressed this kind of tenderness toward his pet turtle, Spike. At the same time, the tenderness that he showed here seemed to go a lot deeper. Donnie thought that in a way, Raph was in his element, though taking care of a kid was much more difficult than taking care of a pet.<p>

Something caught the genius' eye and he frowned slightly, stepping closer to get a better look. His brothers' concentration broke at the movement and they stared after him, trying to catch what Donnie had seen.

"Raph, did you change her this morning?" Donnie asked quizzically, looking at the underside of Emma's onesie. The pink fabric was soaked through, turning it to a shade of magenta. Raph frowned and lifted her higher in the air in order to get a better look.

"Son of a bitch!" Raph spat in self-annoyance. Donatello considered the haggard look in his brother's green eyes with compassion and opened his hands invitingly toward the pair.

"Why don't I clean her up this time? Let you have a break?" Raph stared at his younger brother uncertainly, while Emma gaped curiously up at the turtle in the purple mask.

"You sure, Donnie?"

"Sure. She's not the only one who's covered in carrot here." He gestured toward the mess on Raph's face.

The red clad turtle wiped a smudge of carrot puree from his cheek and considered it for a moment.

"Yeah, but can you handle diaper duty?"

Donatello smiled boldly, though secretly, the image of the wailing little girl from the night before flooded his vision.

"I'm a genius, Raph. I think I can handle this."

Raph raised a skeptical eye ridge at him but shrugged and placed the little girl in his brother's arms. Donnie carefully positioned her in a way that he didn't have to touch the wet clothes too much. Stepping behind Raph, he grabbed the plastic bag with new clothes and diapers and looped it around one wrist.

"Say, 'bye', Emma." Donnie instructed kindly, waving his fingers in Raph's direction. The hothead rolled his eyes that this brother out of all of them would be doing this to him.

"Bay!" Emma cried happily, opening and closing her chubby brown fist at the red clad turtle.

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><p>Donnie and Emma disappeared from through the door, the little girl chattering loudly as they passed out. Raph stared warmly after them for a moment before turning back to see his little brother, proffering a full plate of steaming flapjacks toward him. Smiling, Raph took the heaping plate and took his seat again. He looked around the disaster that was the kitchen floor and winced inwardly.<p>

"Sorry about the mess, Mikey."

"It's cool, bro." Michelangelo waved a dismissive hand and reached over Leo's teacup to grab the maple syrup, glopping a generous amount on his stack of pancakes.

"I'll help you clean it up…" Raph offered lamely, only to be met with the same dismissive wave and a bright smile.

"Don't sweat it, bro. Splinter's given us the day off, so you take it easy for a while. Leo and I will take care of it."

Leo looked a little taken aback that Mikey would be giving _him_ orders, but he nodded agreeably before taking a sip from his teacup. The three brothers continued eating in silence, barely noticing when their sensei made his appearance for breakfast.

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><p>Master Splinter entered the kitchen and stopped short at the scene before him. Three of his sons were sitting at the kitchen table, eating pancakes. There was orange mush on the floor and chairs, as well as bits of what Splinter assumed to be pancakes on top of the mush. Broken shards of what used to be a plate lay scattered across the floor and the remains of a glass jar rested at the foot of a large metal high chair.<p>

His eyes traveled up from the floor to his sons. Leonardo was sitting calmly in his chair, drinking a cup of steaming oolong tea. Michelangelo had pushed back his chair and had gone back to the range to get some more pancakes, skirting carefully around the shards of porcelain on the ground. Splinter's whiskers twitched and he unsuccessfully tried to suppress a smile when he saw the state of his second eldest son. His face and plastron were covered in streaks of orange mush and he was scarfing down pancakes like he hadn't eaten in weeks. He decided not to say anything about the state of the kitchen floor, choosing to travel around the shards and prepare a cup of tea for himself. _It seems as though the joys of fatherhood are emerging quickly, _Splinter mused, allowing his smile to finally break free behind the barrier of a steaming cup of oolong.

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><p>Hank Leon sat with his heavy boots propped up on his beat-up aluminum desk. He was a large man, tall and muscular, with a military haircut and a lined face that told a multitude of stories of war and conflict.<p>

A tall pale man in a wife-beater and ripped blue jeans leaned up against the wall beside the office door, tossing a rubber band ball up in the air with one hand. The other thin hand was heavily bandaged where he had been stabbed by that spiked disk last night. His bald pate shone like a beacon in the bright light of the office and the shadow cast on his cheekbones and slightly overhanging brow made him look even more like a specter of death.

Kevin Sykes was quietly enjoying the perks of being the new leader of the gang of Genetech's enforcers. The promotion had been sudden, but not completely unexpected. His predecessor had been a full-fledged asshole who believed that he knew better than anyone how to take care of business. That attitude had earned him an unexpected swim in the East River after getting up close and personal with a Colt .45.

The whole operation last night had been an absolute fuck-up from start to finish. Sykes reflected on the whole thing with a degree of resentment. The woman was dead and the kid was gone, Tank's nose was broken, Jasper had been stabbed in the hand the same way that Sykes had been; hell, even Vinnie appeared back at the base with a broken wrist. Only Klein had come away from it without a scratch, but that's because he folded under the pressure like a little bitch, screaming and begging for his life. Sykes made a mental note to beat some backbone into the kid with a nine iron.

The rubber band ball rose and fell in a steady cadence as he remembered the man in the red coat. The karate guy, as Vinnie had referred to him when making his report. He gritted his teeth in rage as he remembered how easily they had been taken down. _Five against one and he still kicked our asses. What a joke. _Not only had Sykes watched the guy kick his gun into a dumpster, he had sat back and watched Tank and Jasper taken out and Klein intimidated into almost pissing himself. Luckily, Leon didn't know that and had given him the position of leader before Vinnie had even sunk to the bottom of the river.

He shook himself from his reflections and glanced at the clock above Leon's desk. Almost a quarter past nine. They had been waiting in this stuffy ass office for forty-five minutes. Sykes was starting to get impatient. Tossing the ball in the air, he looked toward his boss expectantly.

"So, when do you think the embassy cronies will get here?" Sykes asked, catching the rubber band ball midair. Leon shrugged and glanced calmly at his watch.

"Should be any time now."

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><p>The door suddenly swung open to admit a tall Asian man and a small pale woman. They passed by Sykes with barely a glance and made straight for Leon.<p>

_This must be Liu and Kowalski_, Leon figured. He found himself studying them intently. Aside from their names and the fact that he had to work with them, he knew next to nothing about them. The old soldier swung his feet from the desk and turned to fully face the newcomers. They came to a stop before the beat-up desk, staring solemnly at the solid man sitting there. The silence was thick as each party waited to see who would be the first to speak.

It was the woman who spoke first. Her voice was rich, with a thick Eastern European accent.

"You are Henry Leon?"

Leon nodded. _Straight to the point_. He already liked this woman, and she was sexy too, which didn't hurt at all.

"I am Aleska Kowalski, and this is my associate, John Liu." She gestured toward her companion with a graceful hand.

Liu nodded slowly to Leon, who stiffly nodded back.

Sykes approached boldly, his eyes fixed on Kowalski's ass like a hungry tiger. He leaned back nonchalantly against the edge of the desk, leaning in to get a better look at her face.

"Hey there, baby. How about we…"

Sykes never got to finish the flirtation. In a flash of movement, he found his face pressed to the wooden veneer of the desktop, his locked left arm was sticking straight out behind him, and Kowalski's forearm was pinning his head down, holding a thin switchblade to his throat. She blew a stray strand of hair out of her face before bending down and whispering menacingly to the space beside his ear.

"Call me 'baby' again. I dare you."

Sykes could only sputter in indignation. She shoved his face harder into the desk before releasing him. The humiliated gang leader swallowed hard and pushed himself up to standing once again. He retreated to the door, rubbing his arm and warily watching the couple with new caution.

Leon sat back in his chair, impressed, and caressed his stubbled chin carefully. He had barely seen the woman move when taking Sykes down. His eyes moved to Liu and wasn't surprised to see that the man was packing some heavy artillery, something that looked a little like a Desert Eagle holstered underneath his open suit coat. _Maybe these two will be useful after all. _Kowalski turned back to face Leon, her full lips curled slightly into sneer of derision.

"Our employer has commissioned us to ensure that his investment was secured."

Leon nodded slowly, not taking his gaze from her cool brown eyes.

"I 'eard."

"We are also to take our orders from you." This observation was imparted with an air of reluctance. Something told Leon that she didn't like following orders, which was just too damn bad. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desktop.

"I 'eard that too. Your boss tell ya what we're doing?"

"Yes. We are to find the child that your men lost." Her eyes slid derisively over Sykes, who glared at her in challenge. Kowalski smirked coldly and turned her attention back to the old military man, "What do you know about this man?

"Not a lot. All we got is that 'e knows karate. Right, Sykes?" All eyes turned Sykes, who rolled his aching shoulder and nodded grudgingly.

"Yeah." The gang leader grit his teeth hard as he uttered the single syllable.

"Did he have a weapon?"

It was the first time that Liu had spoken up. His voice was quiet and sinister, sending a sharp chill through Sykes. He focused his resolve to keep it from showing, trying to turn the uneasiness into an air of indifference.

"Yeah, he did."

The Chinese man looked slightly impatient as he turned fully toward the gang leader.

"A knife, gun? What was it?"

Sykes sighed, exasperated, and shrugged.

"Something weird… looked like a couple of salad forks."

Spotting a yellow legal pad on the desk, Liu snatched it up and held out it to Sykes. The gang leader looked uncertainly from the pad to his boss. Leon arched a brow curiously but didn't object.

"Draw it." Liu pulled a pen from his inside pocket and held it aloft as well.

Sykes took the pen and pad from Liu and started sketching. When he had completed the rough drawing, he handed it back ungraciously. The suited man looked over the sketch and smiled unexpectedly. The woman looked puzzled and leaned over to get a glance at the sketch.

"What is it, John?" she asked curiously, looking up into his face. He smiled patiently at his partner and tapped the sketch with the tip of the pen.

"That, my dear, is a sai. This is a _very_ interesting development, indeed." Liu's face was impressed and amused at once. Kowalski frowned, still confused but not asking any more questions.

"What the hell is a 'sai'?" Sykes asked impatiently, glaring hotly at the strange man in the suit. Liu gazed on Sykes with the same patience a teacher would have when instructing a difficult student.

"It's a traditional weapon used in Japanese martial arts. Also, it is first clue to finding our man."

"How do you figure that?" The gang leader didn't sound impressed and was looking for any opportunities to issue a challenge. Liu didn't seem to notice, though he answered the question with the same air of a university professor giving a lecture.

"It will not be difficult to find if there are many in the city who fight with such a weapon. They are not easily come by and they are difficult to use. If he went after you for injuring the woman, he is likely a vigilante, which also means that he probably has dealt with some of the other gangs in the city. That is where we start our inquiries. Make no mistake, Mr. Leon," Liu shifted his attention back to the large military man, "this man will not stay hidden from us for long." There was murder in the man's eyes, and Leon was very glad that he was not the one being hunted by these two.

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><p><strong>The part where Raph got showered with food actually happened to me at work recently, and in spite of myself, I almost got angry, so I really felt for him when I was writing that part. <strong>

**Thank you again for all of your reviews! I'll hopefully be back with a new chapter as soon as I'm done with finals. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everybody! I'm back with a new chapter! Finals are done and so, besides work, I am free as a bird to work on new installments. I thought that my last chapter was a little weaker than my usual work, so I'm hoping that this chapter reads better. I don't want to sound too sappy, but thank you everybody for reading and reviewing! **

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><p>During the entire trek back to the small bathroom, Donatello wondered what could possibly gotten into him. <em>You were debilitated by her screaming; what could possibly make you think that you can change her diaper? <em>He chided himself silently for his rash decision. _Then again, Leo fed her last night and she didn't fight _him_…_ If Leo, who couldn't come within three feet of Ice Cream Kitty without being screeched at, could successfully do something with Emma without a screamfest, then Donnie felt like he could do it. _How hard could it be?_

Turning into the small bathroom that the brothers shared, Donnie set the girl on the woven bath rug in front of the bathtub. He set the two sacks of baby supplies on the counter next to the sink and began to unpack the diapers. A slight movement in his peripheral vision prompted him to look back to the floor. Emma was crawling on her hands and knees toward the open door, attempting a quiet escape. The tall turtle swooped down and scooped her up into his arms, nudging the door partially closed with one elbow.

"Bay!" The small girl protested loudly, slapping his strong arm with her tiny hands. Donatello chuckled and shook his head forbiddingly at her.

"You're not going anywhere, Emma. I've got to get you cleaned up, after the past couple of days you've had." Donnie found himself smiling at the memory of all the stuff that had happened to Raph over the past twelve hours alone. _The guy has got to be exhausted. He's been peed on, cried at, probably drooled on and definitely splattered with mushy vegetables. _A break had definitely been in order.

The genius turtle considered the orange mush surrounding Emma's mouth and that lightly coated her fingers, as well as the disheveled state of her tightly curled hair. _She's going to need a bath_, Donnie realized with a slight panic. He cursed himself again for volunteering for this chore. _Oh well, we might as well get it over with, _he thought in resignation as he set Emma back onto the bath rug.

Leaning over the wide bathtub, Donnie turned on the tap and stuck the stopper into the drain. Emma pushed herself to her feet and was tottering around the bathroom, testing the cabinet doors and sliding on the tiled floor. The genius wasn't surprised to see her walking around, since she seemed to be developmentally old enough to be doing so. Emma took an interest in one lower cabinet door in particular and swung it closed with a loud bang.

"Bay, bay, bay!" Emma cried as she slammed the cabinet door closed repeatedly. Donatello scooped her up and set her on the counter. The small girl seemed slightly bewildered by her sudden change of position, blinking in confusion around at her immediate surroundings.

The soiled onesie was removed, as well as the sopping diaper. Grimacing with disgust, Donatello dropped the diaper into the wastebasket and tossed the onesie in the sink, not having any better ideas of what to do with it. Besides their wraps and Mikey's disgusting sets of tighty-whities, they didn't have much use for a washing machine.

Emma sat watching in rapt attention, naked as a jaybird, as the tall turtle grabbed a cotton washcloth from a drawer and a large towel from the towel bar. Lifting her gently off the counter, Donnie carried the small girl to the tub.

"Ok, Emma. Bath time."

Emma shrieked in delight as Donnie lowered her into the tepid water. The little girl looked around at her new surroundings, swirling her hands through the water with an amused smile. Kneeling beside the tub, the tall turtle watched as Emma stared in transfixed wonder at the water flowing from the spout fixed into the wall. She laughed delightedly as she clapped her hands under the running tap, splattering Donnie with small droplets of water. Donnie turned off the flow of water, eliciting a chirp of dismay from the small girl when her newest plaything was removed.

Donatello suddenly remembered that they didn't have the right stuff to give Emma a proper bath. He and his brothers were turtles for God's sake, what use did they have for shampoo? He spied the bar of yellow soap sitting on the side of the tub and wrapped it in the washcloth. _I guess this is just going to have to do. _

"Alright, then. You ready, Emma?"

She giggled and splashed the water in her immediate area in excitement. Swiveling Emma around on her seat, he massaged her back with the wrapped bar of soap. He cupped some of the warm water in one of his large hands, slowly pouring it over her back. Releasing her from his supporting grip, he reached into the water with both hands, thinking that more water could make the task go faster.

Emma leaned back suddenly, falling back into the water with a large splash. The unexpected wave caught Donnie in the face, soaking his mask completely. He sputtered and jerked back away from the aquatic onslaught. The little girl giggled mischievously up at his dripping face, her short curls flowing gently under the water. Wiping the water out of his eyes, Donnie pulled Emma up to a sitting position again. The suds from her arms and back had been effectively washed off from the unexpected swim, and most of her chest and belly had been rinsed off as well.

"Bay!" Emma shouted sharply, reaching out to him. Donnie realized that she was calling out what she thought his name was, like she had called Raph 'Da.'

"Donnie." He corrected gently, pointing a finger to his chest. She stared up at him for a couple of seconds before grinning broadly and reaching up to him again, wiggling her fingers earnestly.

"Nee! Nee!"

Donatello was highly impressed that she learned part of his name so quickly, just by hearing it. Usually, children would need to hear or do something multiple times before learning it. However, she seemed only to need one time to learn. It was phenomenal. The scientific part of Donatello's brain wanted to explore this further, but pushed the thought aside for now.

Donnie picked up the soapy washcloth from where he had draped it over the side of the tub. He ran the washcloth over her hair several times, lathering her coarse curls with slimy suds. He laughed good-naturedly as Emma touched her slick hair, now plastered to her scalp like a swim cap. She stared at the slick substance covering her fingers and clenched her hands experimentally, feeling the odd texture.

Cupping his hand again, Donatello brought a quantity of water out of the tub and poured it over her hair. The water poured over Emma's scalp and spilled down her ears, cheeks and nose. He repeated the action twice more and was alarmed by a sudden scream. The soapy water had run into Emma's eyes, and she was crying in irritation and discomfort.

"Shit!" Donnie cursed in surprise and rubbed Emma's eyes gently with his thick fingers in an attempt to get the soap out. She splashed the water roughly in response, her distressed cries growing louder. Lifting the small girl out of the tub, the geeky turtle gently set her on top of the towel he had set beside him. His mind was scurrying in a thousand different directions, none of them making much sense. He tried wiping her eyes again but his hands were wet, so his attempts were futile. Emma's cries lessened into petulant whimpering.

He turned away from the Emma for a moment to rummage through one of the drawers and snatched up a dry washcloth. When he turned back, prepared to wipe her eyes, all that he saw with a soaked white towel and a little puddle of standing water. No Emma.

Donnie stared in shock at the spot for five whole seconds before his body reacted. He sprung to his feet and spun around, stopping short when he saw the solid figure of his older brother filling the open door frame.

"You lose something, genius?"

Raphael stood in the doorway of the bathroom, holding Emma in one of his muscular arms. The small girl was mewing sullenly, streams of soapy water running down her face. The orange splatters of carrot puree that had decorated Raph's face before were gone, probably wiped away while he was eating breakfast. Donatello stared dumbly for a few seconds at the scene before him, hardly believing his eyes.

"I only took my eyes off her for a second…" the tall turtle defended lamely, absolutely bewildered.

"From what I can tell from these," Raph waved a handful of colorful printed pamphlets in his free hand, "that's about all it takes."

He tossed the glossy papers onto the bathroom counter and stepped into the bathroom. Emma babbled a series of 'Das' and 'Nees' as the tough turtle readjusted her in his grasp. Donatello swallowed hard, finally getting over his shock and attempting to put on an air of someone who has it all completely under control.

"I thought I told you to take a break." Donnie said accusingly, trying to reclaim a little bit of his dignity. Raph met the tone with a deprecating shrug.

"You did, but just when I was about to, I saw a naked little girl standing by my bedroom door with soap in her hair. Figured you might need some help." Donnie flushed indignantly under his brother's amused glance.

"I don't need…" He started protesting stubbornly. Raph held up a forbidding hand, stalling the genius' words.

"At least to watch the door." Brown eyes met green. After a long moment, Donnie lowered his eyes to the floor in defeat.

"Alright."

* * *

><p>Donnie grudgingly took the slippery girl from his older brother. Setting her back into the tub, he raised a warning eye ridge at her. She blinked up at him innocently, sticking one tiny finger in her mouth. Raph came up a little closer, leaning against the bathroom counter lazily. He watched as Donnie knelt down beside the tub. The purple clad turtle grabbed the dry washcloth and carefully wiped the soapy streams of water out of Emma's large green eyes. She shut her eyes against his ministrations, but allowed him to completely clean up her face.<p>

Raph crossed his arms, his distracted thoughts racing along the same course that they had for the past twelve hours. He had been racking his brains, but he was neither a tactician, nor was he necessarily a technical genius. A good plan of action required both of these things. Then he could take over, doing what he did best, kicking ass, and boy, was he itching for a good round of ass kicking.

"So, have you and Fearless come up with a plan yet?" He asked directly, turning his bright eyes back to his brother's carapace.

"For…?" Donnie asked distractedly, not looking up from his ministrations. Raph frowned at his brother's obtuseness.

"You know what for. Finding out about what this Genetech place wants with Emma."

"Sort of. I'm going to spend some time digging into some city records to find blueprints for the laboratories and central offices. Leo seemed to think that the best way to get any intel on Genetech Laboratories is to scrounge it up ourselves. Setting up surveillance cameras and bugs in the offices is probably the best option, though it's going to take some time to get all of the tech and plans put together.

Emma flopped forward onto her belly, propping herself up on her elbows in order to look at the two turtles. She giggled and kicked her tiny feet, splashing some of the water onto the wall behind the tub. Raph mouth pulled itself into a half-smile at Emma's attempts to entertain herself.

"What do you think it's all about, Donnie?" Raph's weary tone made the purple masked turtle look up. The mask of strength had slipped significantly, revealing a fraction of how much of a toll the past two days had taken on the tough turtle. Donatello sighed and sat back on his folded legs, shaking a little of the water from his hands back into the tub. Emma rolled over onto her back, her lips working like a goldfish.

"I'm not entirely sure…," the turtle genius considered uncertainly, "More than likely, Emma is part of some kind of out-there genetic experiment. That's the only reason that I can think of that she would be mixed up with them at all."

Placing a large hand under her back, Donnie propped Emma into a sitting position and swiveled her around so that she was facing him. He cupped more water in his hand before covering Emma's eyes with the other. He poured the water over her hair, slowly washing the remainder of slippery soap out of Emma's dark curls. The soapy water ran harmlessly over the turtle's wrapped fingers and back into the tub.

"They probably have tampered with her DNA somehow," Donatello continued thoughtfully as he worked, "Enhanced some genetic qualities that they wanted or dampened some that they didn't want, like eye color, hair color… stuff like that."

"You don't _really_ think that they just wanted to change her hair and eye color?" Raph asked incredulously. The thought that this adorable little girl had been grown in a laboratory disturbed him, as well as what those bastards may have done to her when she was trapped in that lab.

"No, it was just an example," Donnie explained shortly, sending a few droplets of water flying as he waved a large hand, "The circumstances seem to indicate that if this were an experiment, it's much more controversial than that. Scientists have been working on cosmetic genetic tinkering for years. However they were messing with her DNA, it must have been something that they really don't want people to know about. "

Donnie ran a hand over Emma's hair, determining how much more rinsing was needed. Her stringy hair floated around her ears, completely soap free. She patted the water around her, sending ripples out reaching to the sides of the tub. Donatello smiled indulgently before turning back to face Raphael.

"There's also a possibility that they could doing research on faulty gene modification or Emma could be an identical organ donor for a relative. Not all of the options are necessarily sinister…"

"Then how do you explain Miriam getting murdered? How is _that_ not sinister?" Raph's tone was challenging and dangerous. The younger brother faced the hothead's rising anger with an air of calm that rivaled that of Leonardo.

"I'm not trying to explain away anything, Raph, I'm just trying to give you some kind of idea of what we might be dealing with here. You weren't wrong when you said that this thing was big, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the possible explanations. We can't jump to conclusions too quickly, not with the few facts that we have."

Raphael gave a low grunt, acquiescing with his brother's cool logic, and looked away. Confident that he had deflected Raph's temper, Donatello turned back to face Emma's wet face. She blinked the water out of her eyes and chirped happily at him. He smiled as he lifted her from the soapy water.

"There we go. I think that we've just about got this."

He stood her upright on the soaked towel that he had set her on when he took her out of the tub the first time. Astutely determining that Emma needed a dry towel, Raph grabbed one from under the sink and handed it to his little brother. Donnie took it and gently rubbed Emma down with it, ruffling her wet curls into a fuzzy mess. Beaming brightly, Donnie wrapped the towel around the girl's shoulders and tucked it under her elbows. She teetered on her feet, rocking slightly back and forth in the turtle's grasp. The younger turtle, the gap-toothed smile still prominent on his lean face, turned towards his brother expectantly.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Donnie asked, gesturing between Emma and the diapering supplies on the counter. Raph looked nervously between the two before covering his nerves with an indifferent shrug and a stiff nod.

Raph lifted Emma, still wrapped in the fluffy towel, and lay her on her back on the counter. _Take two._ Plucking another Maya the Explorer diaper from the pack, the tough turtle unwrapped it and slipped it under Emma's butt. She didn't fight him, just staring happily up at him as he carefully folded the diaper up and secured the fasteners the way that he had seen April do it.

_I did it… _Raph marveled at the finished product. Emma was wrapped up as pretty as a package and was babbling contentedly as she rolled her gaze around the room. Raph leaned over her and used the tattered tails of his red mask to tickle her bare belly. She squealed with delight and batted at the tails with her pudgy hands.

A bright light flashed out of the corner of Raph's eye. He sharply turned his head to face the lens of the digital camera that Mikey had pointed at him from the doorway. Donatello facepalmed at his little brother's lack of common sense. _Oh my God, Mikey… _

"Aww. You're so adorable." Mikey's freckled face was pulled up into a silly grin. Raph stared stupidly for a moment before curling his lip into a feral snarl.

"I'll show you adorable when I'm done with you!" Raph growled as he took a purposeful step toward Mikey.

* * *

><p>The orange clad prankster screeched loudly as he took off down the hall, Raph right on his heels. Donnie patiently shook his head after them as he picked through the small selections of outfits for Emma from the plastic shopping bags. Since there were only two of them left, he didn't have to think very hard about the decision.<p>

"How do you feel about purple, Emma?" he asked gently, holding up a lavender onesie littered with silver stars. Emma cooed gently and clapped her hands approvingly at the offering. Nodding satisfactorily, he slipped her into the onesie, carefully threading each arm and leg through the correct holes. Donnie lifted her up to eye level, smiling widely into her large green eyes.

"Come on, I think those two are going to be at it for a while, so how about you and I give breakfast another try?"

"Nee!" Emma waved her hands rapidly in his face. Donnie laughed and cradled her gently in the crook of one arm, similarly to how he had seen Raph carry her to breakfast that morning.

"I thought so."

Donnie hoped that Mikey had left some pancakes, and that Raph had left some juice in the fridge. Baby food was out of the question… absolutely. As they strolled back through the living room, Donnie contemplated the possibilities that might have brought Emma to being here, taken care of by a family of mutants. _Which one the right one? _

Finding out why she had come into their lives would later, after a big breakfast and long nap. Like he had told Raph, it was all going to take some time, so they might as well enjoy the ride while it lasted.

* * *

><p><strong>I have really enjoyed writing the fluffy chapters with Emma and the different turtles and I am so so happy that you all are enjoying them too! There is going to be plenty of fluff before the story is concluded, and I'm going to try to include some exciting parts as well to keep the plot rolling along. I wanted each of the brothers to have an opportunity to pair with Emma and have some bonding time. Mikey's time will be forthcoming, and I am planning a Splinter pairing chapter too.<strong>

**Thank you all for reading, and I will see you again soon with Chapter 8!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! So, I'm back with a new chapter. I'm afraid that some of the momentum of the story is being stalled because of these extra scenes with Emma. They are important in their own way, because I wanted to demonstrate the bond that Emma has with the Hamatos individually as well as collectively. With that in mind, I really appreciate your patience. Thank you all for reading and for all of you who reviewed. All of your comments have been helping me develop as a writer, so please tell me what you think; your comments are welcome!**

**I don't own TMNT, nor do I own 'Issun-boshi,' (which is a Japanese folktale, so I believe that it's in the public domain, but I definitely didn't write it). Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Bye, Emma!" Michelangelo shouted good-naturedly into the kitchen, slipping his nunchakus into the holders on his leather belt and bounding toward the garage where the Shellraiser lived. Leonardo and Raphael stood around the kitchen table, where their sensei was enjoying a hot cup of after dinner tea. Their weapons were sheathed on their belts and were ready to travel to the surface for their mission. The leader cleared his throat subconsciously before addressing Splinter.<p>

"We'll be back in a few hours, Master Splinter." Leo assured his sensei, who dipped his chin at his eldest son. Raph came up behind Emma, established in her highchair, and ruffled her hair playfully. The little girl babbled in greeting to her red clad friend, waving a spoonful of spaghetti in his direction. He dodged the flying pasta easily, reminded vividly of their first breakfast together.

"Come on, guys, we have three buildings to scope out tonight!" Donatello hollered to his brothers, waving them toward the lair entrance, the keys of the Shellraiser jangling in one large hand. Leo nodded and followed his brother out of the kitchen, Raph a few steps behind him.

It had been the first time in several days that his sons had had the opportunity to go out on patrol. Tonight, they were scouting the different locations of the Genetech laboratories, hoping to find out more about what they were doing there. Raphael, not wanting to bother April with babysitting just yet, had begged Master Splinter to watch her until they got back. In exchange for an extra training session and for deep cleaning the dojo, Splinter had agreed, though the bribery hadn't been necessary. He enjoyed the company of the small girl. She reminded the old rat a great deal of Raphael when he was a young turtle; stubborn, fearless and very curious.

"Bay!" Emma shouted after the departing turtles, her face and hands smudged with Mikey's famous spaghetti sauce. Raph turned back and waved shortly at the young girl before following his brothers out of the lair and climbing into his seat in the Shellraiser. Raising his steaming cup of tea to his lips, Splinter listened as the large modified subway car rumbled out of the garage and the sound slowly faded away in the distance.

* * *

><p>Emma had been constantly keeping them all busy for the past three days. She was frequently moving, running everywhere and touching everything. Everything that was fragile needed to be out of reach, or else it was fairly certain to touched, and more than likely, broken. Every place was brand new territory, and Emma seemed to think that it was her duty to explore every nook and cranny of the lair. She had been discovered trying to climb into the Shellraiser, up the side of the kitchen cabinets, even toward an open door that lead to the sewer tunnels. Someone had to keep an eye on her at all times, and the Hamato clan was beginning to find themselves exhausted from the effort.<p>

Each of his sons had gradually become more comfortable with the child's presence over the past few days. They had, in turn, traded off changing diapers and cleaning up after her, giving Raphael some relief from all of the responsibility. Michelangelo had leapt at the challenge of caring for and pampering the young human girl. He had taken it upon himself to constantly entertain her, teasing her and taking her on escorted 'adventures' to explore different parts of the lair.

He had gifted Emma a stuffed bear that he had gotten at a swap meet the day after she arrived in the lair. The bear was visibly old and one of the eyes was missing, but when Emma had laid eyes on it, she had been in love. The youngest turtle had traded a few of his old comic books for it, which had surprised Splinter significantly that he would give up something that was so valuable to him. Being the 'master' of 'naming stuff,' Michelangelo had christened the bear Scotty McStuffins, because of the plaid material that had been badly stitched onto the bear's belly. Scotty McStuffins became Emma's constant companion, always being dragged behind her anytime she tottered around the lair.

Leonardo had cracked the code of naptime singlehandedly on the second day of Emma's stay. The leader had discovered that his meditation music was particularly soothing to the young girl, when she had come into his bedroom during a meditation session and had curled up on the floor to take a nap beside him. He gave Raphael a mix CD with different tracks of soft chimes and flutes, just in case Emma had difficulty sleeping at night or during naps. Much to the red-masked turtle's relief, within minutes of putting on the CD, his young ward was sleeping soundly, snoring like a little lawnmower.

Emma had shied away from Donatello for the present, much to the genius' disappointment. He had wanted to take the girl into his laboratory in order to run some tests, but as soon as he set her on the examination table, she had sent up a shrill scream that had sent the entire lair into an uproar. Only when Raphael had come and taken her up in his arms had she calmed down and the genius turtle was soundly scolded for scaring the girl so badly. Donatello had gotten his blood samples, but under Raphael's protective glare and a second bout of threats. As a result of this misadventure, Emma regarded Donatello with a degree of distrust. He had, on multiple occasions, attempted to play with her or feed her, only to be met with rejection for any of the other turtles.

As for Raphael, no matter how much time she spent with any of the other three turtles, she gravitated back to him. When she cried, he was the one who could best comfort her and when she found something new, she sought out Raphael so that she could show it to him first. Donatello constructed a crib for her and had set it up in his brother's bedroom, so that Raphael could have his bed back to himself. The hotheaded turtle had quickly learned what kind of schedule Emma kept, and could effectively get the girl cleaned, fed and napped at the correct times of the day.

* * *

><p>Splinter looked over the little girl in the highchair. Her whole face was covered with marinara sauce and small pieces of noodles stuck to her cheeks and chin. She chattered at him and clacked her spoon on the tray of her highchair. Splinter smiled and rose to lift the child from her confined seat. Luckily, he had had a baby girl for a short time as well as four sons, so he knew exactly what he needed to do to get her ready for bed.<p>

"Alright then, little one, shall we get you cleaned up?"

Within a half an hour, Splinter had bathed her and changed her into the grey pajamas that she had arrived in, ruffling her hair dry with a large towel. Emma was incredibly tickled by the attention that she got from the large rat. She especially loved burying her hands into the dark fur that covered his arms and neck, as well as attempting to pull on the beard that hung low on his chin.

Taking care not to forget Scotty McStuffins, Splinter transported the small girl through the halls and into his room, closing the rice paper divider behind him. He set her on the floor and she gawked at the many relics on the walls. The old rat smiled gently and knelt down to face her. He chuckled her under the chin, eliciting a few ticklish giggles from her.

"Why don't I tell you a story from my homeland, one that my grandfather used to tell me when I was young?"

She chirped happily as Splinter spread an old blanket on the floor, placing Emma on it and handing Scotty McStuffins over to her. She sat still as Splinter carefully lifted an antique katana from its stand on the mantle. He knelt before the small girl, placing the ancient weapon on the floor next to him. Emma squeezed her stuffed bear tighter, staring into the rat's warm brown eyes. Kneeling before the blanket, Splinter cleared his throat and began reciting the old folktale from memory.

"_A long time ago, there lived an old man and an old woman. They went to the shrine together and prayed that they may have a child, because they had none of their own." _

Splinter pressed his paws together, as in prayer, to illustrate the story. Emma reached up and grabbed his pressed paws, looking somewhat concerned for him.

"'_Please,' they prayed, 'Please give us a child, no matter how small.' Very soon, a son was born to them, and he was a small as the top of my finger."_

He held up one clawed finger and Emma grasped his finger curiously. The old rat wiggled his captive finger playfully and was rewarded with a pleased smile.

"_The couple raised the child and he grew into a smart and respected young man… but, he didn't grow any taller. He was called Issun-boshi, because he was so small. One day, Issun-boshi told his parents that he wanted to go into the city and seek his fortune. They trusted their son, so they sent him on his way with a sword made from a sewing needle, a sheath made from straw and a boat that was made from a ricebowl with a chopstick oar." _

Splinter showed the sword to the young girl, allowing her to run her tiny fingers over the intricately carved designs on the sheath and the worn leather on the hilt. Her face was filled with wonder, taking in every word he spoke as he continued with his story.

"_He set his ricebowl into the river and paddled the chopstick for many days until he reached the town. He searched until he came to the house of the lord. He announced at the gate, "I have come to the city to work and to train. I wish that you would make me a servant here." _

Splinter assumed the posture of a confident young man, about to meet his destiny and spoke as if _he_ were Issun-boshi. The small girl hugged Scotty McStuffins tightly, rocking back and forth on her seat as she listened to the soft accented words of the old rat.

"_He was so small, that he was overlooked by the guard of the gate. Issun-boshi cried out again and again until the guard noticed him and took him to see the lord, riding on one of the guard's getas." _

Splinter knelt down on one knee before continuing with the story. Emma's mouth puckered in confusion as she watched the rat's actions, tilting her head to the side contemplatively.

"_Issun-boshi knelt before the lord and pledged his loyalty, all while being held in the lord's hand. The lord instantly trusted Issun-boshi and made him a servant in his house. Everyone trusted Issun-boshi, especially the lord's daughter, who made him her body guard."_

The rat master paused for dramatic effect, his eyes focused on the small girl, who was giving him her rapt attention.

"_One day, the princess and Issun-boshi walked down a path that led to the temple. Two ogres suddenly jumped out of the forest and blocked their path."_

He jumped expressively up in the air, twisting his face into a grotesque mask and growling low in his throat. Emma gasped in terror and covered her eyes with shaking fingers. Splinter knelt and stroked her coarse curls comfortingly, causing the young girl to uncover her eyes in some relief.

"_Issun-boshi unsheathed his sword and attacked the ogres."_

Master Splinter pantomimed a sword battle, performing a series of complicated katas using the ancient katana. Wide green eyes followed his graceful movements and skilled sword thrusts.

"_But one of the ogres swallowed him in one gulp."_

He pretended to place something into his mouth and swallowed hard. Emma looked horrified, crying out in protest and beating the blanket indignantly with her small hands. Splinter held up his paws in suspenseful pause, catching the little girl's attention again.

"_Issun-boshi didn't give up; instead, he stabbed the ogre in the stomach from the inside, causing the ogre to spit Issun-boshi back up."_

Emma cheered loudly, clapping her hands in joyful victory as Splinter jabbed with the katana at an imaginary enemy.

_"Issun-boshi attacked again and put out the other ogre's eye. The ogres fled for their lives, leaving behind their prized possession: a magic, golden hammer."_

Splinter held the katana in his flat palms, Emma's wide eyes running over the beautiful designs etched into the blade. She reached for the katana and Splinter pulled the sharp blade out of her reach.

"_The princess picked up the hammer and said to Issun-boshi, 'If you wave this hammer, you can ask for anything in the world, and it will be given to you.' Issun-boshi wanted neither food, nor riches, but only to be a full-sized man. The princess waved the hammer, whispering a chant to cause Issun-boshi to grow."_

Splinter waved the katana high over Emma's head, pretending that it were the magic hammer and mumbled some words in Japanese. Emma was entirely under his spell, watching his every movement with intense interest.

"_In a moment, Issun-boshi was full-grown. He married the princess and they lived happily ever after."_

Emma clapped and babbled excitedly, thrilled by the old rat's exciting story. Splinter sheathed the katana and put it back on its place on the mantle. Allowing the memories of the past to wash over him, he stared at the objects from his past life. The old katana, which had been a relic from his clan. The old photograph of himself, with Tang-Shen and Miwa, which he had salvaged many times but had survived to revive the past. He remembered training with members of his clan as his beautiful wife looked on; Miwa crying in the night and Splinter coming to comfort her, singing an old lullaby and rocking her in his arms. His eyes misted over, as they usually did when he lost himself in reminiscence.

A sharp tug on his robes brought him back to himself. He looked down into the round face of the little girl, her wide green eyes full of wonder and expectations, much like he had imagined that Miwa might have looked at this age. He had never gotten to find out… there was so much that he had lost that could never be recovered.

He remembered the smoldering ruins of his home, the body of Tang-Shen, lying lifeless under the rubble. The crushing depression that had enveloped him in the weeks that followed her death as he traveled to America to begin a new life. The pain of his mutation into what he was today. He looked into his paws, remembering the agony of the transformation that caused him to gain this form. There were so many things that he had lost…

And yet, he had gained much in return. While he had lost his humanity, his clan and his family, he had gained four wonderful sons, and had lived a full life down here with them, bringing them up in the ways of ninjitsu. It had been the healing that he needed, the vindication that he needed to keep on living, to keep fighting. For his sons. They had brought a sense of new hope to him, like he saw in the eyes of this beautiful child. Splinter gazed softly down on the girl, who continued tugging on his robe, grunting in her earnestness for closeness.

Splinter assumed a lotus position on the blanket and opened his arms to the child. Grinning widely, Emma crawled into Splinter's lab, snuggling closer into his maroon kimono. The old rat enveloped the young girl in his arms, rocking her gently. He hummed the familiar tune of the lullaby that he had sung to Miwa first, then to his sons when they were young. The little girl smiled and sighed contentedly, her large eyes sliding closed drowsily. Her breathing evened slowly and she began to snore gently. Splinter considered the sleeping child in his arms, warmed by the memory of Miwa as an infant, and whispered gently as he continued rocking her.

"I do believe, little one, that _you_ are much like Issun-boshi. You are small, but you are fearless and bold. You won't allow your limitations to dictate what you can and cannot do," He ran a claw over her brow, softly caressing the tight curls that surrounded her face, "I believe that you will grow one day into a fearsome warrior, and you will overcome whatever ogres are coming to devour you."

The rat and the girl sat comfortably together in the glow of the single candle for a long time, barely hearing the return of the four cold, tired turtles. Splinter heard the trudging footsteps as they passed his room, heading to their respective spaces, presumably to bed. One set of footsteps stopped directly in front of his quarters, hesitant shuffling before the swish of the rice paper admitted a green face, wearing a red mask.

"Master Splinter?" His second eldest son peeked his head through the rice paper divider, "Everything alright in here?"

"All is well, my son." Splinter replied quietly, nodding toward the sleeping child in his arms. The tough turtle smiled softly as he approached on light feet.

Raphael bent down and gently lifted the young girl out of his father's arms, shaking his head at the apparent ease it took for Splinter to coax this adorable bundle of energy to sleep.

"Out like a light," the red-masked turtle mused, "I don't know _how_ you do it…"

"Years and years of practice, my son," The old rat replied dryly, a small smile causing his whiskers to twitch. He watched as his son gingerly shifted Emma to a more comfortable position, trying his utmost not to wake her.

"What did you discover tonight, my son?"

Raph shrugged his large shoulders, shaking his head wearily.

"Leo just wanted to scope out the main headquarters before making any moves on it. Donnie's got the plans for the main building, since it's the one where he wants to put in the cameras, so we didn't even get to the other building. Just sat in the cold for two hours staring at the plans to a dark building."

Splinter nodded slowly, rising to his feet with some difficulty. Raph looked slightly guilty as he watched his father struggle to his feet and he couldn't do much to help with his arms full with Emma.

"We're going to go in tomorrow night to set 'em up."

Splinter placed a paw on his son's broad shoulder and looked him dead in the eye.

"You must practice extreme caution, Raphael. Whoever these people are, they are growing more and more desperate. I fear for your safety, as well as hers," Splinter nodded toward Emma. Unconsciously, Raph drew the sleeping girl closer to him, as if his sensei's warning made him nervous.

"Don't worry, Sensei. Emma's going to be safe as long as I'm around."

Splinter didn't doubt him, though he could only imagine what kind of demons haunted this little girl in the shadows. He desperately that by some miracle, they would never fully find out.

* * *

><p>Kowalski shook her loose auburn hair out of her eyes with an impatient jerk of her head. She and her partner were cruising though a run-down neighborhood in the Bronx, their dark sedan being assaulted by the strong gusts of a frigid February night. She stared up at the passing street lights, her mind running though a familiar course.<p>

Several hectic days had passed since her boss contacted them with her newest assignment. Those days had resulted in one dead end after another, further kindling the Polish woman's impatience. Most of the leads had pointed in a similar direction: the Purple Dragons. The operations of the Dragons stretched out like an intricate spider web; small clusters of semi-independent groups that fed the larger network, and ultimately, the top boss. Liu and Kowalski had had some trouble finding a group of gangsters that had more than a couple of brain cells between them, but one of the idiots seemed to think that a man called Gayle, whose small outfit was stationed in an old Bronx warehouse, would know more about this 'vigilante.'

Liu carefully pulled the dark sedan up to the curb in front of the abandoned warehouse. The cold breeze blustered around the car, rocking it on its tires. The two embassy employees sat silently in the car for a moment before Kowalski spoke.

"It's been three days, John, the trail is growing colder. How is talking with a bunch of thugs is going to get us any closer to finding the girl? Shouldn't we be forcing the information from these idiots?"

Liu chuckled kindly, looking over his protégé with the condescending manner that a master gave to his students.

"My dear girl; always so eager to pick a fight with someone," the Chinese man shook his head at Kowalski, the amused glint in his eye causing the younger woman to frown uncertainly, "Think about it for a moment, Aleska. If the man who took the girl is a vigilante, he will have run up against some of the city's 'criminals'. The Purple Dragons is the largest gang in New York City, so it is natural that they would know something. Some members of the gang _must_ have seen this man."

Kowalski huffed irritably and tugged the door handle tempestuously.

"Let's just get this over with, it's too damn cold out here."

Stepping out of the car, the pair turned up their collars against the sharp cut of the wind and swiftly reached the industrial metal doors. Liu pulled on them with all his strength, the resistance heightened by the howling wind. When he managed to open the door open wide enough, Kowalski slipped inside and Liu followed closely behind her.

The warehouse was fairly empty, save for miscellaneous groupings of boxes, filled with junk. Four men were sitting around a card table near the back of the large room, playing a hand of poker with a large pile of multicolored chips littering the rickety table. They all looked up sharply as the doors slammed shut, sending echoes of booming sound through the enclosed space. Two of the gangsters threw down their cards and drew their weapons. The other two stared in disbelief and anger. Liu stood a little in front of Kowalski, partially out of habit, while Kowalski raised her gun, covering her partner by pointing the weapon at each of the armed thugs in turn.

"Good evening, gentlemen."

"What do you want?" A large black man with a dragon tattoo around his left eye rose slowly from the table. His low voice rumbled deep in his chest, making him sound like a dormant grizzly bear. Most men would have been intimidated by the form of the gangster, but Liu passively looked the man over before responding to the challenge.

"Are you Gayle?"

"No, I'm the Holy Father. Who wants to know?"

"We need some information."

The gangster laughed heartily before his face creased into a hateful sneer.

"You've come to the wrong place, asshole. We don't know nothin', so you better get your ass goin'. You, on the other hand," He looked pointed at Kowalski, licking his lips suggestively, "are welcome to stay for as long as you want." He glared lustily over Kowalski's tight fitting clothing that accentuated every curve of her body. Her right eye twitched in annoyance and she snarled defensively.

She pointed her gun directly at his head, itching to pull the trigger and watch his brain matter decorate the far wall. Liu disrupted her action with a wave of his hand. With a grunt of disappointment, she lowered the gun reluctantly.

"Ooh, I like 'em feisty." Gayle smirked at her and pecked a kiss in her direction. Her knuckles whitened as the grip tightened on the gun. The struggle to keep her composure was evident in her face, making the gangster chuckle loudly.

Ignoring the quivering rage of his protégé, Liu stepped up to face the gang leader. He was about a head shorter than Gayle, but the Asian man carried himself as if he were ten feet tall. In spite of himself, the gangster fell back a step at the man's advancement. Reaching into his long black duster, Liu pulled out a thick brick of cash and waved it before the large gangster's face. Gayle's dark eyes widened in interest and eagerly plucked the stack from Liu's fingers, running his thumb over the edge to determine how much was there. Nodding in smug satisfaction, Gayle signaled to the other gangsters to put away their guns. He stuffed the brick into his back pocket and crossed his arms insolently.

"So, what's on your mind?"

"We're looking for a vigilante."

"You hirin'?" The gang leader smirked humorlessly, raising a bushy eyebrow. Liu's expression remained stoic as he held his ground.

"No. We want to talk to him. Our information is limited; all that we know about him is that he knows 'karate'."

Gayle's face changed suddenly. There was blatant recognition and a degree of uneasiness in his dark features.

"Oh. _Those_ freaks."

Liu's eyebrows creased in confusion and Kowalski looked between the two men, trying to read their expressions.

"Freaks? What do you mean by that?" Liu interrogated darkly.

"Just that. Bunch of freaks that showed up a few years ago. They know karate all right; makes 'em even more… freaky."

"You're going to have to be a little more specific than that." Kowalski grumbled impatiently, stepping closer to Liu's side. The gang leader turned his dark eyes on her, his eyes wandering over her luscious curves once more.

"They're some kinda mutants, kinda like the ones from the alien invasion, but they showed up way before that."

"Mutants?" Kowalski crossed her arms disbelievingly. Gayle nodded solemnly, his bald pate shining in the industrial light of the warehouse.

"Big, green, ugly, freaky mutants." He turned his attention back toward Liu, his dark eyes flaming with a silent anger at the focus of their conversation, "Yeah… we've been gettin' screwed over by those freaks for years. They've messed up a bunch of our deals; guns, drugs, shit like that. What we wouldn't give for someone to get those motherfuckers out of our hair for good."

Liu ignored the gangster's selfish laments. He had no patience for self-pity, especially from low-lifes like Gayle and his band of followers.

"Tell us everything that you know." Liu ordered softly, cutting straight to the point.

The gang leader pursed his lips, probing his memory for the best description.

"There are four of 'em. They're green, have these hard shell things on their backs, got on masks for some reason. Always hidin' in the shadows, and they're _really_ fast. They're always runnin' and jumpin' around, swinging swords and shit."

Liu pulled the sketch of the sai that he had gotten from Sykes a few days before from his pocket and held it out for the black gangster's inspection.

"Did any of these… mutants, carry something like this?"

Gayle looked over the sketch, scrutinizing it carefully.

"Yeah, I seen one of 'em having something like that," He met the icy stare of the Asian, his curiosity peaking at last, "What do you want with 'em?"

"One of them has something that belongs to us," Liu replied shortly, "Do you know where to find them?"

The leader shrugged his beefy black shoulders noncommittally and ran a large hand over his bald head.

"Not really. From what I've seen, they're somewhere in Manhattan."

Kowalski gave the man a look of incredulity, her lips curling into a sneer of derision.

"Somewhere in Manhattan… that's the best you can do?"

The large gangster spread his hands out in front of him, shrugging with a mock sense of helplessness.

"Sorry, babe. That's all I know. If you want to find your freaks, you're gonna have to catch 'em on their turf, so you better get walkin'"

Liu's flat mouth twisted itself into a cold smile.

"Thank you for your trouble."

He pulled his large caliber sidearm from the holster under his coat and destroyed the man's kneecaps with two rapid, well placed shots. Gayle screamed in agony, collapsing to the ground, the support of his legs gone forever. The other gangsters backed up nervously, their hands hovering over their guns, yet were hesitant to draw. The Asian's cool gaze hovered over the writhing gang leader for a moment before traveling up to the rest of the men. Their eyes widened in terror and fell back a few steps. He smiled without humor and holstered his weapon, bowing a fraction to the terrified group.

"Have a pleasant day, gentlemen."

Kowalski's full lips were pursed in confusion as they fought through the blustering wind and returned to their car. She glanced up at her mentor, looking for answers.

"So, we're dealing with _mutants_ now?" she inquired skeptically, shouting slightly to be heard over the gale of the wind.

Liu nodded, his own thoughts consumed by this new information.

"I suppose so… and mutant _turtles_ by the sound of it."

They climbed into their respective seats and buckled up. Kowalski twirled a lock of hair between her fingers distractedly before looking up at Liu. His face didn't looked concerned at all. In fact, he seemed to be quietly amused by the whole situation.

"So, how do we deal with that?"

Liu turned the ignition, glancing at her shortly before throwing the car into drive and pulling away from the curb. His slanted eyes gleamed with a sinister light as he stared intently at the open cracked asphalt of the road.

"The same way that we deal with anything else, my dear."

* * *

><p><strong>Some of my fondest childhood memories are those of my dad telling or making up stories for my sisters and me, and I believe that Master Splinter would be a wonderful story teller. I thought it would be fun for him to make the story more animated and entertaining to a child who likes to get up and move around constantly. <strong>

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, the next one should be up very soon. Until then, sayonara!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone, as promised, this is BelatedBeliever1127, back with a new chapter! Thank you to all for reading and a special thanks to those who are leaving reviews. They really mean a lot! **

**I don't own TMNT, and I certainly don't own Sesame Street (or any other brand names that I used). Enjoy!**

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><p>April O'Neil set down her mug of warm apple cider on her small kitchen table and looked toward her ringing cell phone. The sun was setting behind the New York skyline and was casting long shadows through the apartment that she shared with her fiancé, Casey Jones. The caller ID showed Donatello's gap-toothed smile beaming up at her eagerly. She smiled as she hit the green 'accept call' button on the custom T-Phone and raised it to her ear.<p>

"Hello?"

_"Hey April. H-how's it going?"_

"Great! Casey and I went to the doctor this morning. You were right. We're having a boy." She couldn't help but smile broadly as she shared the news, even though Donnie already knew. "Thank you again for the preview, Donnie. It really did mean a lot to us."

_"No problem, April." _His voice on the line sounded a little sad, and April pushed the guilty feelings purposefully from her mind.

"So, what's up?"

_"Well… Emma's sick." _April's freckled face grew concerned at Donatello's announcement.

"Oh no! It's not serious?"

_"I don't think so, but she probably caught a cold from how damp it is down here. _We're_ used to it, but she's running a temperature," _Donnie cleared his throat awkwardly, _"I hate to ask…"_

April interrupted her friend with a generous smiling tone.

"Of course, you guys can bring her here. I'm sure that if she stays down there in those sewers for a lot longer, she'll get worse."

Donatello hesitated for a second. _"Well, I mean, I don't want you to get sick too… I mean, because of the baby and all…"_

"I'll be fine, Donnie. Also, Casey can help out when he gets home from work in a few hours."

Donnie sighed gratefully, his breath whistling slightly through the gap in his teeth. _"Hopefully, she won't need to be there more than a couple of days. We're about to go install some bugs in Genetech's main office, maybe get some information that-"_

April heard a shuffling sound and the loud interrupting voice as the youngest turtle ring over the line.

_ "Can I take Emma to April's? Pretty, pretty please?_

_ "I don't know, Mikey, would Raph…"_

_ "Leo already said it was okay, D. Said it was better than me 'bouncing' all over the Shellraiser while you guys were working."_

Donatello sighed resignedly before replying to his younger brother.

_ "Fine. Just… keep your T-Phone on this time, ok?"_

_ "Okie, dokie… See you soon, April!"_

The sound of more shuffling footsteps, Emma crying tempestuously, and the arguing voices of Raph and Leo could be heard in the background.

_ "Sorry 'bout that, April."_

"It's alright, Donnie. Mikey can help me out until Casey gets home. It's no problem."

_"Thanks, April. We owe you one."_

"No problem. Good luck getting those cameras set up."

She ended the call and set the phone back on the table. Picking up her slightly cooled mug, April strolled into the living room to clean up the area for the arrival of her visitors.

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><p>Fifteen minutes later, there was a frantic tapping on the living room window. Mikey's round happy face appeared in the window and he waved urgently for April to pull up the window. The youngest of the turtle brothers was wrapped up warmly in his thick orange coat, the hood covering his green head, and the black trousers and boots completed his winter wear ensemble.<p>

Emma was snugly secured inside the jacket, close to Mikey's warm body heat. The little girl looked absolutely terrible. Her cheeks were flushed and lines of mucus streamed from her nose and settled around her upper lip. She was whimpering and her little body was quivering with painful sobs.

April was overcome by pity as she struggled to pull up the pane. She wrenched the window open and the turtle in the orange coat tumbled inside. Mikey unzipped his jacket and set Emma carefully onto the plush recliner. He threw the coat on the floor, eliciting an evil glare from April. Catching the look, he snatched up the coat and hung it on one of the coat hooks in the hall.

"Hey April, she looks pretty bad, huh?" Mikey quipped lightly as he unlaced his boots and set them under the coat hooks.

"Poor thing," April cooed pityingly as she pressed the backs of her fingers on Emma's burning forehead. The little girl leaned into the touch, comforted by the coolness of the older woman's hand, "Hang on, I'll grab a thermometer and check her temperature."

The redhead disappeared into the bathroom and returned with an electronic thermometer. She gently slid the tip into the little girl's ear. Emma was so worn out from the sickness, she simply mewed in feeble protests and allowed April to stick the plastic device in her ear. The thermometer beeped a few times and finally buzzed loudly. April looked over the illuminated screen and regarded the digital numbers with a grimace.

"100.3. Yep, she's got a fever alright," she said as she dropped the disposable covering on the thermometer into a nearby wastebasket. Mikey lifted Emma from the chair and held her close against his plastron, a little alarmed at the heat radiating off the sick child. "I'll make her a bottle, just in case she's hungry," April called as she strode out of the living room. Mikey grinned kindly at Emma and was met by dull sleepy eyes.

"Welp, what say you and me watch some TV while Auntie April fixes you your milk?"

Emma yawned thickly and sneezed. Securing her in one of his muscular arms, Mikey settled down on the large plush couch and grabbed a large knit throw from the back of the couch. He wrapped Emma tightly in the blanket and balanced her carefully in his lap. Satisfied that the girl was fairly comfortable, he picked up the remote and started to flip through the channels. After rejecting Yo Gabba Gabba, Little Einsteins and Spongebob Squarepants, a welcome sight from his childhood made him set the remote down excitedly and settle back in his seat.

"Sunny day, sweeping the clouds away!" the chorus of children sang as the series of familiar and lovable characters passed by on the screen, apparently just going through their day.

"On our way, where the air is sweet!" Mikey belted out in his best baritone. Emma smiled weakly and gurgled as she snuggled deeper in the blanket. The orange-masked turtle propped the little girl up higher so that she could see the colorful characters. She blinked drowsily at the dancing puppets before closing her eyes in exhaustion.

"You see that one there, Emma? The furry red one? He's my favorite. His name is Elmo," The little girl opened her eyes a crack to see what her funny friend was referring to, "His laugh cracks me up. Oh! And that one, that's Big Bird," Mikey pointed to the different puppets that were on the television screen. Emma glanced up from her comforting place, but couldn't quite muster up the energy to stay interested in the program. Her face twisted into a look of misery crossed her face and she sniffled shakily up at him.

Clucking with acute sympathy, Mikey snuggled the little girl closer, trying to share his warmth with her in order to combat the constant shivering that racked her small body. He didn't know as much about germs and diseases like Donnie did, so he didn't understand how someone with a fever could be hot and cold at the same time. _Poor Emma, she looks so miserable…_ Mikey's distracted thoughts drifted to the events of the morning.

Emma had been fussy and irritable all morning, but she had woken up from her nap the middle of the afternoon crying, snot running down her face and was as flushed as a cherry. Raph had completely come unglued, demanding that Donnie do something and telling Leo to go fuck himself as the leader was trying to calm the hothead down. Mikey had never seen Raph so distraught and uncertain.

The brothers had tried to help bring down her fever by as putting her in a cool bath. When that didn't work, Raph started screaming even louder at Donnie to get her some medicine, threatening the genius with certain dismemberment. Well, Donnie didn't feel comfortable giving Emma anything from their medical stores, in case it could really hurt her in another way. Raph sobered up when this was explained to him and allowed his brother to do whatever he could for the sick baby.

The genius turtle had concluded that Emma's illness was just a bad cold, and that some time on the surface would probably help a lot more than staying cooped up in the lair. Raph had needed a lot of convincing to allow this, but he had given in eventually. He had wanted to go with Emma to April's apartment, but Leo insisted that he come with them on the mission and keep an eye out for trouble while Donnie was setting up the cameras in Kinder's office. He asked Mikey to take Emma instead, and Mikey had jumped at the chance. It was going to be _so_ boring waiting for Donnie to get the cameras installed, so taking care of a sick kid was _definitely_ going to be better than being cooped up in the Shellraiser with a bickering Leo and Raph.

April came back into the room, armed with a bottle of warmed formula and put it in Mikey's large hand. He started with surprise, not having heard her come in, and nearly dropped the lukewarm bottle. The young turtle proffered it to Emma encouragingly, who looked at it without interest and turned her head back into the turtle's plastron. Sighing heavily, he set the bottle on the counter and tucked the edge of the blanket over Emma's shivering body.

"How's she doing, Mikey?" April asked, her voice laced with concern at the state of the small girl.

"Looks pretty miserable." Mikey murmured solemnly, his usual gaiety suppressed for the present. Emma sneezed loudly and snuffled wretchedly as if to reiterate Mikey's point. April looked greatly sympathetic and stepped purposefully toward the small bathroom just around the corner from the living room.

"I'll check our medicine cupboard to see if there's anything we can give her." Mikey nodded encouragingly after April as she disappeared into the bathroom down the hall. Emma's heavy breathing slowed as she drifted off to sleep, affording her respite from the discomfort of her illness. The orange-masked turtle grabbed a couple of tissues from the side table and wiped some of the mucus from her nose and chin.

Mikey could hear April rummaging through drawers and muttering loudly. With an impatient sigh, she shoved the last drawer closed and huffed back into the living room.

"Nothing that's safe for her to take. Dammit…" She swore lightly as she dug her T-Phone from her back pocket and began dialing, "I'll call the pharmacy for some medicine."

"I can get it, April." Mikey volunteered, rising from the couch while cradling Emma carefully. April looked up at him in some surprise, the phone still clutched in her hand.

"Oh, Mikey, you don't have to…"

"Come on, April, if you can get your car out of the garage, you'd still have to navigate through traffic _and_ the ice on the road, get to the pharmacy, pay the guy, then navigate your way back to try to find a new parking spot, 'cause I'm sure that yours will be gone within a minute."

When Mikey got a glimmer of common sense, it shone very brightly. April nodded slowly, taking in what the he had said and appreciating the sentiment.

"Thanks, Mikey," she said with sincere gratitude. "It should be ready by the time you get there, and I'll pay for it over the phone."

Mikey nodded and carefully lay Emma back onto the couch, propping her up against a decorative cushion and ran a large green hand over her sweaty dark curls.

"Be back soon, little dudette. Uncle Mikey's gonna get the stuff to make you all better."

Emma hiccupped and whimpered piteously in her sleep. Mikey grimaced sympathetically and gave the little girl a kiss on the forehead. He stepped up to the window as he zipped up his coat and tugged on his heavy boots. He tried opening the window, but it rose about three inches before sticking fast to the pane. Mikey tugged on it furiously with both hands and finally with a loud grunt, lifted the glass enough where he could squeeze through.

"You need to get this window fixed, April."

The redhead shook her head exasperatedly. "The pane sticks when you're pulling it up. It's fine when you have to shut it. I've been griping to the super for weeks to get something done with this, but he never has enough time to pull his lazy ass away from the Giants game to fix the damn window."

Mikey chuckled at April's assessment of her building's super. He slipped through the window and April closed it firmly behind him in order to keep out the draft. The turtle waved through the glass at her and shimmied up the fire escape out or April's line of sight. She smiled sadly at the sleeping baby and sat down on the couch next to her, rubbing her sweaty back softly and hummed gently to 'C is for Cookie' as the tune played on the television.

* * *

><p>"Why do <em>I<em> always have to be the one going into the dangerous guy's office?" Donnie heard himself whining as he crawled through the industrial ventilation system that snaked through Genetech Laboratories' main office complex.

"_Because you're the only one who knows how to set up the cameras," _The leader calmly explained over the two way radio headsets that both brothers wore, _"Don't worry, Donnie, the sooner you get in, the sooner you can get out."_

Leo had on his 'rational leader voice,' which he used when giving orders or explaining why things needed to be done 'his' way. Raph was the only one who tried to defy Leo while he used that voice, and he exercised that right constantly. Unfortunately, both of them were currently cooped up in the confining Shellraiser, together, when one of them was in a pugnacious temper.

Donnie rolled his eyes and continued inching his way through the aluminum path. He used his small screwdriver from the tool set strapped to his chest to unscrew the bolts to the grate. Catching it before gravity sent it hurtling to the floor, he pulled the grate up into the ventilation shaft and set it aside. Donnie gently slipped through the opening and landed lightly on the wooden floor in the office.

The office was fairly large, illuminated by the lights of the city outside of the spacious window. The furniture, while sparse, was expensive and chosen in good taste. It was exactly the type of office that Donatello would have expected a big shot CEO to occupy.

He could hear Raph grumbling in the background through the headset. _Some things never change_. The genius knew that most of his brother's irritable state could be blamed on the fact that Leo insisted he come with them and let Mikey take care of Emma, but it didn't stop his own nerves from being on edge. Donnie itched to mute the sound in his ear, but Leo had insisted on radio communication at all times.

Donnie went to work immediately, setting his laptop on the immaculate mahogany desk and pulling up the schematics to the office of the genetics laboratories' president. The blueprints indicated that the smoke detectors on the walls above the door and behind the desk were the best options for the installations of the cameras. With a wide angle lens, the cameras would be able to collect video of every inch of the office space.

He wrenched open the plastic case to the first smoke detector and attached the tiny wires with his delicate instruments. Fitting the camera lens into the ventilation slats, he secured the plate back onto the mechanism before moving on to the second across the office, repeating the process. Consulting the blueprints again, Donnie placed the microphones that he had built in several strategic locations around the office.

"_What the hell is taking so long?" _Raph's complaining voice was strained through Donnie's earpiece.

"_Cool off, Raph. I'm sure he's working as fast as he can." _

The genius turtle ignored the bickering of his older brothers and typed a few keystrokes on the laptop, activating the cameras and the microphones and a stream of data instantly began trickling into the laptop's hard drive. Donnie smiled in satisfaction as he looked at his tall frame on the monitor as the camera's recorded.

"Leo, I-_"_

Donnie stopped talking as the unmistakable scrape of a deadbolt turning in the lock sounded through the darkened office. His heart leapt into his throat. _Oh shit… _He slammed his laptop shut unceremoniously and stuffed it into the bag.

"_Donnie? Donnie, can you h-?"_

Donnie hit the mute button on the earpiece, effectively silencing all radio communication. He frantically looked around for a place to conceal himself. Spying a wide bookshelf against the far wall, he pressed himself on the short side on the farthest side from the door. The purple-masked turtle wedged himself into a four foot space between the shelf and the wall and tucked his legs up against his chest. He stayed still for half a minute, silently trying to bring his panicked breathing back under control. His eyes caught the light as the office door opened and a slender, graceful figure stood silhouetted in the light against the far wall. Donnie ducked his head back in order to stay out of the light.

A tall blonde woman in a grey pencil skirt and jacket stepped through the door. She jangled the keys as she worked them out of the lock and shut door behind her. Donatello held his breath, praying to any gods who would listen that she wouldn't notice him. The woman's three inch heels clicked on the wooden paneling as she briskly crossed the office to the large mahogany desk and switched on the sophisticated desk lamp. She rummaged through the desk efficiently, pulling out a file folder full of papers out of one of the drawers.

She was so close that Donnie could smell her perfume from his hiding spot. It was floral and spicy, deeply alluring. The woman flipped through the stack of papers, mumbling softly to herself, before pulling out a set of papers that were paperclipped together. Smiling to herself, she reached into the pocket of her jacket, pulling out a chic smart phone and dialing with her thumb.

"I found them, Mr. Kinder. Would you like me to bring the papers to Dr. Salonga tonight?" Her voice was low and husky. Very sexy. Donnie shook his head hard. _Focus, Donatello. _She listened to the response and replied in a business-like tone, "Yes, sir. I'll make sure that he gets them. Which facility is he in?" The woman paused for a few moments before nodding, "Riverside Division. Thank you, Mr. Kinder." She hit the 'end call' button and slipped the phone back into her pocket.

She pushed a lock of straw colored hair behind one perfectly shaped ear as she walked back across the office, the sheaf of papers tucked under one slender arm. She looked back over her shoulder, her cat-like eyes scanning the office slowly. Donnie held his breath and pressed himself against the wall more desperately than before. With a graceful shrug of her shoulders, the woman pulled the office door open and stepped out, jangling the keys as she drew them from her pocket. The door swung closed and the deadbolt scraped back into place.

Releasing his breath, Donatello scrambled to his feet and sprung up as noiselessly as he possibly could into the air vent, pulling the grate back into place and replacing the screws with shaking fingers. He inched his way back through the grate for a full eight feet before he remembered that his earpiece was muted. He hit the button and heard a very angry voice bellowing into his ear.

"_-if he doesn't turn his radio back on soon I'm gonna…"_

"**Raph!** Shut up, I'm okay…"

"_Donnie, what the hell happened in there?"_ Of course, Raph had wrenched the mike away from Leo and was scolding _him_ now. _Typical_. Donatello employed a lot of self-control in order to keep his voice calm.

"I was almost spotted." Donnie stated shortly, shimmying back down the ventilation shaft where he had with as much speed as he dared. The aluminum creaked loudly under his weight, causing him to creep along more slowly.

"_By who? Kinder?"_

"No. A woman, I think it was his secretary. She was finding some papers to take to one of the scientists."

"_Raph, give me the mike. Let me talk to him." _The faint voice of Leonardo came through Donnie's ear piece.

"_Fuck off, Leo."_

There was a mess of scuffling sounds, a few more muffled curses, then Leo came back on the mike, slightly breathless.

"_Did you… get the plants installed?" _

"Done. The phone is bugged, there are two cameras installed as well as half a dozen microphones around the office."

"_Good work, Donnie. Get out here and we'll swing by April's apartment and check in on Emma." _

Donatello nodded silently and continued his arduous army-style crawl back outside to safety.

* * *

><p>"Booyakasha!"<p>

Klein Upton heard the triumphant shout and glanced up toward the source of the noise. He stopped short when he saw the man jumping from the rooftop over his head. The man somersaulted in midair and landed lightly on the next rooftop before starting to run again.

_That coat… _Klein's unlit cigarette fell from his lips and his sputtering lighter fell to the ground. He stumbled out of the alley onto the sidewalk and gaped as the man ran along the rooftops, jumping effortlessly over the alleys. Klein fumbled around in his coat, looking for his cell phone and dialed clumsily with a gloved finger. Henry Leon picked up on the second ring.

_"Leon." _The gruff voice of his boss sent shivers through the young man's body that had nothing to do with the persistent cold. He cleared his throat nervously and spoke stutteringly.

"M-m-Mr. Leon? Sir? It's K-Klein... Klein Upton…"

_"I know who ya are, kid, now spit it out." _Klein swallowed hard and tried unsuccessfully to keep his voice even.

"I-I think I saw the g-guy, he just ran r-right by me."

_"Where?" _The gruff voice grew a little more excited, which gave Klein some confidence.

"W-West 85th Street, heading towards C-Columbus."

_"Good work, kid. We'll cut him off there. Does it look like he's got the kid with 'im?"_

"I c-couldn't tell, s-sir. He was moving r-really fast and was k-kind of up high."

_"Up high? What the hell does that mean?" _The question made the young man pause again uncertainly.

"I s-saw him j-jump from one building t-to the other, from the roof."

_ "For God's sake… A'ight, just… let Kowalski take care of this one, kid. She's just about there."_

Klein hung up the cell phone and stuffed it back into his pocket. He grabbed his cigarette pack as he walked back into the alley to retrieve his lighter. He was secretly ecstatic that he didn't have to go another round with that scary-ass guy. Luckily, from what Klein had seen, Kowalski was a pretty scary bitch herself, so he was confident that the little shit was going to go down. He chuckled in satisfaction as he lit up his cigarette and exhaled a large cloud of carcinogenic smoke into the dark February sky.


	10. Chapter 10

**Merry Christmas Eve, everybody! Hope everybody is having a great holiday (whether you celebrate Christmas or not) and I sincerely hope that you all enjoy this chapter!**

**I do not own TMNT, nor do I own South Park (the few references of them that are used)**

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><p>The only thing that Michelangelo could think about as he skipped nimbly over the rooftops of Manhattan was finding the shortest route to the pharmacy. <em>If I cut across Columbus, I should save ten minutes each way,<em> he reasoned as he flipped with the ease of a practiced acrobat over a skylight and took a sprinting jump over the next alley.

The night was bitterly cold, overcast by large heavy clouds that threatened to drop more snow on the city. Usually, Mikey and his brothers wouldn't have bothered dressing up in their winter wear, but this winter in particular had demanded that most nights, they had to bundle up. He couldn't wait until the spring, when all of the trees in Central Park were blossoming and the weather got a little warmer, bringing back the birds and the other hibernating animals. Also, spring meant that he could practice those new skateboard tricks that he had read about in that magazine that he had borrowed from Raph. He loved the thrill that came from riding on his skateboard. There was nothing in the world like it.

Landing nimbly on the other side, he sprinted at full speed across the rooftop, his eyes fixed on his next jump point. A dark figure emerged from the shadows and slammed into Mikey at full force, knocking him off his feet. The surprised turtle skidded across the roof, sliding to a stop at the ledge on the far side. He shook some of the stars from his head and he gaped up into the barrel of a handgun, pointed straight at his head. A small woman in a black hooded parka stood over him, darkly glowering at him with thin squinting eyes.

The woman bent over and snatched the hood of his jacket with her free hand and threw it back over the turtle's shoulders. Mikey was too taken aback to do anything to prevent her actions. Her brown eyes widened as she regarded his freckled green skin, the cropped orange mask, and the wide blue eyes that stared back at her.

"Oh, my God… it's really true," she murmured awestruck in a thickly accented voice. Mikey swallowed hard, his eyes not leaving the steely gleam of the gun.

"What do you want?" he tried to keep his voice even to hide his fear. The woman regained her composure and leered down on him with an impatient sneer.

"I've been looking for you… you have something that belongs to us."

A cold chill ran down Mikey's spine. _Oh God, no… it can't be…_

"W-what are you talking about?" he stammered unconvincingly.

"I've been hired to find the girl that you took, turtle. Tell me where she is."

Mikey glared mutinously up at her, past the gun barrel and into her round face, flushed with cold. Her almond shaped eyes narrowed menacingly and she tightened her gloved finger on the trigger.

"I won't ask you again, freak. If you want to live, you will tell me where to find the girl."

"Screw you, lady."

Mikey swept his leg under her feet, sending the woman to the ground hard on her back with a loud grunt of pain. The gun slipped from her fingers as she fell and skittered across the gravel away from her. The turtle sprung to his feet and he drew his nunchucks from the leather holsters under his coat, twirling them over and under his shoulders. Spying the gun a few feet from him, he picked it up and hurled it as hard as he could off the roof into the alley. It clattered to the ground below; out of sight, out of mind.

The woman swore lustily in a foreign language as she pushed herself to her feet. Turning back to face her, Mikey took his most comfortable fighting stance, one chuck tucked under each armpit. The woman smirked dryly and put up her hands defensively.

"Bring it." Mikey challenged confidently.

She charged him, jumping up and aiming a spinning kick at the side of his head. He dodged easily, rolling to the side and lunging toward her while swinging his chuck upward. The wooden handle connected solidly with the woman's jaw with a loud crack. She cried out in pain and stumbled backwards, holding her jaw. Her eyes were on fire as she glared hotly at the smug look on the turtle's face.

"You'll pay for that, you little bastard."

Mikey responded by flicking the button the button on his kusarigama, revealing the blade and extending the long chain. He jumped up and over her head, throwing the heavy chain at his assailant. It snaked around her arms and shoulders, securing them to her body. Landing neatly behind her, he pulled the chain tight with one hand.

"Ah, ah, ah," He shook his large finger at her reproachfully at her, "Can't touch this!"

The woman hopped back a step and kicked Mikey hard in the plastron, making him loosen his slack on the chain and allowing her to free herself. He grunted as the blow fell and flipped backward out of her reach, allowing the kusarigama to fall to the ground. Landing gracefully, Mikey assumed a defensive position. Springing upward with the agility of a cat, she aimed a slicing kick at his neck. The turtle caught her foot with the chain of the nunchuck in his belt and swung her away from him, sending her rolling along the rooftop. The woman slammed into the ledge hard with a loud groan on impact.

"Boom! I just sent your ass to school!" Mikey taunted childishly, sticking out his tongue and blowing a large raspberry in her direction.

The woman growled at him in acute fury. Struggling to her feet again, she shook her loose red hair out of her eyes, clenching her fists so hard that the knuckles turned white beneath the gloves. She sped to Mikey's right, propelling herself off the side of the rooftop entrance and sent herself hurtling toward the turtle with an irate scream. Mikey spun to meet her a split second too late and was tackled to the ground, smacking his head hard against the graveled surface of the roof. His remaining nunchuck went flying through the air and out of sight behind him.

The woman slugged him hard across the face, bloodying his nose. Grabbing her shoulders tightly, he slammed his hard head into her face, affording him time to roll across the gravel, out of range The gave a howl of painful outrage, holding her nose with both hands. The two faced off, glaring intently at one another. Mikey smirked at the damage he had inflicted on the woman as he scooped up the kusarigama and returned it to its nunchuck form. She had blood pouring from her nose, as well as from a deep gash on her bottom lip. Running her tongue over the inside of her cheek, the woman spit a large wad of bloody saliva onto the ground before raising her brown eyes to meet his bright blue ones.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you, freak," she murmured with a feral growl.

Mikey wiggled his fingers at her, provoking her to attack him. Screaming in rage, she charged blindly, one arm raised to deliver a wild punch. Mikey didn't waste a moment as he turned sharply and delivered a sound roundhouse kick to the side of the woman's head. She stumbled sideways and fell heavily to the rooftop, moaning in pain. The turtle whooped triumphantly, pumping his fist in the air.

"Oh yeah!" Mikey gloated as he spun his remaining nunchuck lazily, "Who's the king of the mountain?"

There was suddenly a violent pressure on his throat, cutting off his airway. Mikey's eyes widened in realization and panic as the chain from his own chuck dug deeper into his skin. The nunchuck in his hand clattered to the roof as he clawed desperately at his throat, trying to fight back against the assault. The hands that held the ends of his weapon were too strong and Mikey couldn't free himself. His lungs were burning and his eyes were beginning to tear up, from terror as well as the lack of oxygen. _God, please, I don't want to die! Not like this!_

Mikey's knees buckled and he sank to the gravel, the constant pressure from the nunchuck chain still on his windpipe. His gasping grew more desperate as his struggling grew weaker. His vision was fuzzy and growing dimmer. _No! Stay awake, damn it… Stay… _The dark spots grew and succumbed his vision. His eyes rolled back into his head as he lost consciousness, allowing the darkness to consume him completely.

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><p>John Liu released the pressure on the chain as soon as the mutant went limp and allowed him to tumble to the ground. He stood over the incapacitated turtle, the nunchuck still dangling in his hand. Running a hand over his closely cropped hair, he sighed deeply, sending a cloud of fog into the air. The Chinese man turned and proffered a hand to support his young partner as she rose to her feet.<p>

"Are you alright, Aleska?" Liu asked quietly, looking at the state of his young protégé. Kowalski nodded shortly, wiping a smear of blood from her lower lip and glancing at it in mild curiosity.

"The little bastard's very fast, I'll give him that." She muttered resentfully as she worked her aching jaw experimentally.

Liu knelt down beside the prone figure, applying two fingers to his neck in order to find a pulse. He felt a faint beating under his fingers, indicating life. Grunting, he stood, dusting off his pants with his free hand.

"This mutant fights with nunchakus and kusarigama. Our target fights with sais." He observed aloud, turning the chained weapon over in his hand distractedly.

"What's your point?" Kowalski muttered, spitting another wad of blood saturated saliva into the gravel and stubbing it with the toe of her boot.

"My point is that this is not the one that took the girl. We need to convince him," Liu nodded toward the prone figure, "to tell us where she is hiding."

Kowalski nodded comprehendingly as she swiped at her bleeding lip again and pulled her fallen hood back over her mussed hair.

"Oh, I almost forgot," The Chinese man pulled Kowalski's shining handgun from his pocket and handed it to her, butt first, "I do believe that this belongs to you."

Kowalski took the gun from her mentor, grimacing at the scratches that now covered the once gleaming barrel. She holstered her gun sheepishly, careful not to meet the older man's eyes. Liu grimly slid his smart phone from his pocket and hit the 'redial' button. After one ring, the low gravelly voice of his temporary commanding officer filled the earpiece.

"_Leon."_

"This is John Liu."

"_Did ya nail the son of a bitch, Liu?" _The gruff military man sounded almost excited. Liu smiled dryly at the barely contained enthusiasm.

"We found one of the mutants and we took him down."

"_And the kid?"_

"He didn't have the child with him." Liu replied shortly.

"_Give me the phone, Hank, I want to talk to him." _Another voice spoke loudly in the background. Liu frowned, not immediately recognizing the voice. _Oh yes, the ignorant asshole who started this whole mess, _he recollected in the instant before Kinder's voice came onto the line.

"_This is Jim Kinder. So… is it true, Liu? It's a… a mutant?"_

"Yes," Liu replied slowly, his contempt for the man rising from him in waves, "It's a mutant turtle, just as we were told."

"_A mutant turtle… that's… extraordinary," _Kinder stated, awestruck,_ "I want to take a look at it, Liu," _the company president announced.

"So?" Liu smiled slightly as he could hear the reaction to his insolence. Kinder huffed impatiently as he contained his irritation behind gritted teeth.

"_So, bring it to the Riverside District facility so that we can run some tests."_

"We need him to find the girl; _you_ need him for that." The Asian man reminded the CEO intentionally.

"_I have not forgotten," _Kinder replied dryly, his voice calm and collected,_ "we will make him tell us where the girl is... then, when we have both the girl and the mutant, we _all_ will be rich."_

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><p>April sighed in exasperation as she reached Mikey's voicemail for the eighth time. <em>Where the hell could that turtle be? <em>She ended the call and threw her phone onto her bedside table unceremoniously.

Mikey had left to get the medicine almost an hour and a half ago. After forty-five minutes of waiting and five missed calls, April, cradling a fussing Emma, had descended the stairs her neighbors' apartment. The couple who lived there had two young children, so the redhead suspected that they would have medicine that was safe to give to Emma. She hated to impose, but Emma looked so miserable, she felt like awkwardness was the least of her worries.

Shortly after they had returned to the apartment with the medicine, April had poured out the right dosage and, with a generous amount of coaxing, got Emma to swallow the pink medicine. Within thirty minutes, her fever had reduced she started acting a little more like herself, though still sniffling and sneezing generously.

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><p>Casey had returned home to find a sick baby and a worried pregnant woman. Not the greatest combination. So, he had volunteered to take Emma fully, so that April wouldn't have that concern on her shoulders. The vigilante by night had insisted that his fiancé get some rest, citing the baby and Emma's illness as proof enough. April had complied reluctantly, giving a series of before-bed instructions for Emma as Casey shooed her out of the living room.<p>

As soon as April was safely out of sight, Casey had turned the television to his favorite nighttime show: South Park. After swearing Emma to absolute secrecy, the two of them settled together on the couch under a large quilt and laughed hysterically at the raunchy humor in the show. Emma didn't seem to get a lot of the jokes but laughed like a hyena anytime any of the characters fell down or got hurt.

A short time later, series of scrapes and grunts echoed from outside the living room window. Casey glanced past the drapes to see Raphael struggling with the window. _Really need to get that ass of a super to fix the damned window. What if we have a fire?_ He didn't bother getting up; Raph could open the window himself.

"April? Mikey?" Raph's gruff voice echoed through the apartment as he peeked his head into the apartment. Emma glanced up from her spot on the couch and beamed up at her red-masked guardian as he and the other two turtles filed into the apartment. Casey grinned a signature gap-toothed smile at them and switched off the television.

"Da!" cried Emma eagerly. Raph smiled gently in relief as he swooped the little girl up in his arms. She ran her tiny hands over his face affectionately with a broad grin.

"Hey there, little girl. You're looking a little better." Emma chirped happily at him and Raph tossed her up into the air. She squealed delightedly at the adventure. Raph laughed jovially as he caught the small girl and cradled her in his strong arms, tickling her tummy playfully. The little girl sneezed loudly before giggling at herself.

April emerged from the back bedroom, dressed in an old NYU T-shirt and baggy sweatpants. Donnie flushed hotly and looked away, making his brothers roll their eyes and shake their heads. Walking around the back of the couch, April joined Casey and took his hand in hers.

"Have you guys heard from Mikey?" April asked, looking around at the faces of the three turtle brothers. Leo looked down at April's concerned face, wearing a confused frown. Donnie and Raph exchanged looks of perplexity as they processed her question.

"No, why?" Leo responded uncertainly, concern lacing his voice.

"He went out to get the medicine that I ordered for Emma at the pharmacy, and he hasn't been back for almost two hours." April wrapped her arms around herself as she shared the news.

"Yeah, she's been callin' him nonstop since I got home." Casey chipped in, wrapping an arm around his fiancée and pulling her closer to him.

The three brothers' faces translated different emotions as they looked at one another, ranging between irritation and concern.

"I told him to keep his T-Phone on!" Donnie crossed his arms, his brows furrowing together in concentration, "It's not like him to just not pick up…"

"We'll go look for him, in case he got caught up in some trouble." Leo stated decidedly, walking back toward the window and opening it with a firm tug.

Donnie and Raph nodded in agreement. With a final farewell wave, Donnie ducked back through the window. Raph hesitated for a moment, a bad feeling suddenly washing over him. _Something's really wrong here…_ He shook the ominous thought from his head and plopped Emma back into Casey's arms. Ruffling the girl's short dark curls with his large hand, the tough turtle smiled gently into her large green eyes. She snuffled loudly and grinned up at him sweetly.

"I'll be back soon, little girl. Keep gettin' better, ok?"

Emma grasped Raph's large finger with both of her little hands and met his large green eyes. He chuckled lightly and looked back up at his best friend. The vigilante looked a little strange holding a kid, though Raph supposed that the same could be said about him.

"Got this, Case-man?" Raph asked with a raised eye ridge. Casey guffawed and waved the red-masked turtle away nonchalantly.

"No prob, Raph. I'll take good care of her, trust me. Just go find Mikey."

Raph smiled in gratitude at his friend and clapped him on the shoulder before turning and jumping through the window after his brothers. Casey bounced the little girl in his arms a few times and was pleased to hear her chuckle with delight before sneezing twice in succession.

"Come on, Emma. Let's go see if they've killed Kenny yet," Casey said, without thinking. His fiancé's eyes flashed in surprise and indignation.

"Casey Jones!" April protested hotly, crossing her arms angrily.

"What?"

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><p><strong>Please continue to read and leave reviews! Happy Holidays to everybody!<br>**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everybody! Winter break has given me a lot of opportunity to write, as well as a heck of a lot of inspiration, hence the quick update times. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who are reading, liking and following the story and an extra thank you to all of you who left reviews. You, the readers, are awesome, so keep up the good work. Enjoy! **

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><p>Michelangelo awoke with a headache and a bad taste in his mouth. He was restrained in a weird looking chair, like one found in a dentist's office, with wide straps holding his legs and chest securely. His arms were secured to the chair's rigid armrests, palms up, which Mikey found extremely odd. He worked his fingers experimentally, relieved that all the feeling was still there.<p>

He blinked a few times, trying to clear his bleary vision as he glanced around the small space. It was stark, just like a doctor's office, with a silver counter that lined three of the walls and was covered by an assortment of miscellaneous tools that Mikey didn't recognize. Directly in front of him, not three feet away, were two tall figures speaking in low tones. Their identities were difficult for the young turtle to make out and he strained his ears to listen to their conversation.

"Magnificent…" one of the figures whispered in an awestruck voice, shaking its grey head slowly.

"Fuckin' ugly, is what it is," the other replied in a gruff voice.

Mikey blinked his eyes deliberately to bring the two men into focus. One of the men was huge, composed of mostly toned muscle, dressed in a tight blue polo and khakis. The guy's thick jaw was squared, making his military haircut look particularly boxy. He reminded Mikey of one of those old fashioned G.I. Joe dolls dressed in casual clothes.

The other man Mikey recognized immediately. This was the guy that Donnie had pointed out on his laptop screen as James Kinder, the dirtbag who ran Genetech Laboratories. _The guys who are after Emma_. He wore a pristine black suit with a royal purple tie, his hair suavely styled and his smile smug as he stepped forward and looked down on the turtle deprecatingly. He bent down to look the turtle right in the eye, his probing gaze examining every freckle on Mikey's round face.

"Do you talk?" Kinder inquired, cocking his head interestedly to the side as he stared intently.

"Screw you."

Mikey spat a large wad of saliva into the man's face. Jerking back indignantly, Kinder struck Mikey across the face with the back of his hand, nicking the turtle on the cheekbone with his expensive wedding band.

"I guess that means yes." he replied dryly, taking a handkerchief from his inside pocket and wiping his face generously with it. The muscular man behind him chuckled softly, his laughter turning into a hacking cough that he covered with a large hand.

"We know that you have something that rightfully belongs to us," the company president cut to the chase as he stuffed his handkerchief back into his pocket carefully. Mikey glared coldly at the way that he talked about the little girl that Mikey considered to be his 'niece'.

"Emma's a _person_, you bastard. Stop talking about her like she's not."

"So you _do_ know about her," Kinder commented, completely ignoring the turtle's protest, "Now, tell us where… Emma is." His lips twitched humorously as he said the little girl's name.

Mikey shook his head slowly and deliberately. A large handgun appeared out of nowhere, burying itself deep into his bruised throat. He winced in discomfort but didn't relent in his glare toward the suited businessman. After a few moments, Kinder sighed resignedly and waved away the disembodied hand that held the firearm. The pressure was removed from the growing bruise around his neck and Mikey breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that it had only been a bluff.

"Looks like he ain't gonna talk, Jim." The squared jawed man in the background commented dryly, crossing his arms in impatience.

"I didn't think that he would, Hank. Fortunately, I thought ahead."

At that moment, a young doctor in a long lab coat slipped through the door of the small space, carrying a large plastic case. The man was tall and lean, sort of like Donnie, with a horsey nose and a diminutive mustache. Mikey suddenly understood why Emma gave his geeky brother a wide berth, especially around his lab. The resemblance, mostly in gait and build, was uncanny.

The doctor placed the case on the ground next to the chair and pulled up a rolling chair before the captive turtle. Mikey eyed the doctor suspiciously and he watched his actions. _Whatever they want this guy for, it doesn't look good for me._

"Dr. Salonga," Kinder acknowledged the young man, stepping out of his way in order for the doctor to have enough room to move around, "Did you bring all the supplies that I called for?"

The man in the lab coat beamed up at his boss with a brown-nosing smile. His teeth were also horse-like and several patches of razor burn were evident around the bulging Adam's apple on his skinny neck.

"Yes sir, I did," he replied in a high nasal voice, huffing through his mouth like he had a bad cold, "This is very exciting. I've never seen anything like this before. This… this could make my whole career," he gasped breathlessly in wonder, looking over the turtle in the chair with boiled gooseberry eyes. Mikey instinctively shrank back from the man's scrutiny.

"That's interesting, Poindexter, now get to work," The man called Hank grunted at the doctor disinterestedly, "We've got things to do here." The doctor colored darkly at the prompt and rapidly opened the case at his feet. Mikey watched cautiously as he slipped on a pair of bright blue rubber gloves and pulled a cotton tipped swab from a protective plastic covering.

"Open your mouth," Dr. Salonga ordered tersely, turning back toward the turtle and pointing the cotton tip towards his face.

Mikey clamped his lips shut in defiance. Stepping around and behind him, Hank covered the turtle's nose with a large hand, blocking his airflow. The vivid memory of being choking by his own nunchuck filled his mind and he quickly opened his mouth wide, sucking in a deep breath. The doctor swabbed the inside of both cheeks with a cotton tipped swab and stuck it inside a plastic tube.

"Very good, turtle," the doctor acknowledged offhandedly, as if he wasn't interested in the turtle's performance at all. The muscular man stepped back from the chair, though he hovered over Mikey's shoulder, his shadow falling ominously over him.

Dr. Salonga pulled a strip of cloth from the kit and tied it like a tourniquet tightly around the turtle's muscular bicep. Satisfied that the tourniquet was tight enough, he sharply struck the inside of Mikey's elbow a few times with two fingers, trying to bring the veins up toward the surface. He reached into the kit, bringing out a sterile intravenous needle with three plastic vials, like the ones used in blood donation clinics. Mikey stiffened the doctor inserted the needle into the vein and quickly filled the vials with the turtle's blood.

"There we go…" Dr. Salonga murmured in deep concentration, stopping the vials carefully and slipping them back inside the case and disposing of the intravenous needle. He looked towards Kinder inquisitively, who nodded once in assent.

The doctor reached into the depths of the case and brought out a large syringe, filled about a quarter of the way with a clear liquid. Flicking the syringe sharply, he pushed the plunger up a fraction to get the air bubbles out. Michelangelo's blue eyes widened at the sight of the large needle and its unknown contents.

"W-What is _that_?" he asked nervously, his eyes fixed on the clear liquid inside the syringe.

Dr. Salonga completely ignored the question and he checked the tightness of the tourniquet with a gloved finger. Mikey struggled against the doctor's touch and the large military man struck him across the top of the head, temporarily incapacitating him. Dr. Salonga slipped the tip of the needle under the turtle's green skin, pushing the clear liquid into his vein. The turtle struggled more violently as the needle was removed.

"It should take effect fairly quick, Mr. Kinder," the young doctor stated matter-of-factly as he pulled off his gloves and pulled the safety cap back over the needle, throwing both into the medical waste bin.

"Thank you, Dr. Salonga. Will that be enough genetic material for you to start breaking down the turtle's DNA sequences?" Kinder inquired lightly as the doctor rose from his seat.

The young doctor nodded eagerly, his horsey teeth flashing in a wide grin. "Oh, yes sir. The saliva and blood samples will be more than enough." He strode toward the door with the step of a man about to make scientific history. With his thin hand on the door handle, he stopped short and turned back toward his two bosses, an embarrassed, sheepish look on his face.

"I almost forgot to tell you," Dr. Salonga said rapidly, "We've got the next round of injections ready for when the girl is returned."

Kinder nodded satisfactorily, "Good. As soon as she is delivered to you, administer them to her. We've got a lot of lost ground to make up."

"Yes sir, Mr. Kinder." The doctor nodded enthusiastically as he ducked back through the door, shutting it noiselessly behind him.

Mikey's head was swimming and his eyes were growing heavy. _What the hell…? _His senses became gradually duller and he started to feel really funny, kind of like he were on a drug trip. His head lolled onto his chest, unable to be supported by his neck anymore.

"What the hell _was_ that stuff?" Hank asked, lifting a bushy eyebrow towards his business partner. Kinder leered at him cunningly, looking particularly proud of himself.

"Sodium amytal."

The old soldier's eyes widened in recognition of the name.

"No shit… you actually have a _truth drug_ back there?" He chuckled maliciously as he shook his head at his friend's audacity, "You're a sick man." Kinder smirked before turning back to his partner.

"Not sick, just ambitious."

He glanced back over at the orange-masked turtle, who was shaking his head sluggishly as if he were trying to make his mind focus, but to no avail. Kinder grinned at Hank and motioned toward Mikey with a well manicured hand.

"He's all yours, my friend."

Grunting, Hank pushed himself off the counter and lumbered purposefully to the restraining chair. He bent down over Mikey and jerked his chin up roughly with one calloused hand, putting on his most serious interrogative face. The turtle blinked unsteadily up at the man with glazed eyes.

"What is your name, turtle?" His tone was low and menacing, meant to scare the disoriented turtle. Mikey shrank back in his induced confusion, frightened and unsure of the intimidating man in front of him.

"M-Michelangelo…" the drugged turtle drawled slowly, his eyes rolling slowly behind heavy eyelids. Hank nodded slowly, satisfied that the drug was working.

"Where are you hiding the girl, Michelangelo?

"Sh-Sh-Sh…" Mikey struggled under the influence of the drug, his mind fuzzy and muddled. "She's… in our friends' apartment."

"Where?" The military man leaned right up into the turtle's face, their noses barely an inch apart.

"No… I c- I can't…"

"WHERE IS THE GIRL?!" Hank screamed in the turtle's face, spraying him with spittle.

Stuttering slightly in his confused state, Mikey related the address of Casey and April's apartment, a part of him kicking himself for his weakness against whatever they had put in his body. _The others could have beaten this..._

"Liu." An Asian man in a suit and long black coat silently materialized next to the old soldier.

"Yes?"

Hank scribbled on a scrap piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to him.

"This is the address where the girl is hidden. Go pay them a visit."

Liu looked over the address and nodded slowly. With a swish of his black duster, he disappeared from the room, the door closing silently on oiled hinges.

Hank cracked his knuckles nonchalantly and glanced with wry amusement at the pleased expression plastered on his partner's face.

"So, what do ya want to do about the freak, Jim?"

Kinder seemed to give this some this some serious thought.

"Hmm… I think we should put him in the southern lab. That's where we're keeping the other lab experiments. I think there's a spare cage in the back that will fit him nicely," the suited businessman glanced over the slumped form in the chair, his business like mind examining the different profitable options that the mutant afforded to him. _Filthy rich._ "We might need to put a muzzle on him too; just to be on the safe side. I don't want to do any tests on him until the drug's out of his system; it'll mess up the results."

The objects in the room and all the sounds that went with them were starting to melt in Mikey's vision. Everything felt fuzzy, his head, his hands, his feet. It was all so surreal. He didn't want to see anymore, to feel anything else. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep in his own bed.

Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, Mikey drifted into a deep, uncomfortable sleep.

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><p>"Oh, come <em>on<em>, babe," Casey whined petulantly, "It's not going to hurt her to watch a little South Park… She _is _Raph's kid…"

"Even so, Casey Jones, I am _not_ going to sit quietly and let a one year old girl watch that garbage!"

Emma sniffled lightly as she snoozed on the overstuffed couch, wrapped up in the knit throw. April stood in front of her fiancé, arms crossed and glaring daggers up at him as he attempted to cool her rage with an innocent smile. She wasn't budging an inch, which made the dark haired vigilante nervous.

"Come on, babe, she actually liked it. Raph won't care…" Casey pled lightly.

Suddenly, the front door lock exploded, the wood surrounding it splintering and flying into the foyer. The loud sound woke Emma, who screamed shrilly in terror as April scooped her up in her arms.

"Holy shit!" Casey grabbed his baseball bat from its place by the television, prepared to face down whoever had the balls to break into his apartment. "April, take Emma and get out of here! I'll take care of this."

April wavered uncertainly where she was, glancing up at her fiancé. Casey turned on her fiercely, his face set with grim determination.

"I'll be ok, just _go_!"

Hoping to get out to the fire escape landing, April rushed to the window and set Emma on the chair just beside it. The little girl watched in utter confusion as the older woman tugged at the pane with all her strength. It rose a few inches and stuck fast. _Goddammit!_ She didn't have time for this. A loud thud of a foot pounding against the wooden door echoed through the apartment.

"April! _Run_!" Casey hollered desperately over his shoulder.

April took off sprinting down the hall toward the back bedroom, Emma clutched desperately to her chest as the apartment door was violently kicked open. The form of a tall Asian man filled the doorway, glaring at Casey with a cool stare that gave him a sick feeling in his stomach. He wore a long black coat that hung to his ankles, covering a grey suit and tie. The guy's face was hard, a large scar curving around one eye making him look battle worn. The man held a large caliber handgun at his side, muzzle pointing to the ground.

"Get out of my apartment!" Casey ordered through gritted teeth, pointing his bat aggressively at the intruder. The tall Asian's lips twitched in mock amusement and entered the apartment with a purposeful step. The vigilante raised the bat and swung at the gun like he was hitting a grand slam. The bat exploded in a shower of painted splinters as the large bullet penetrated it with a deafening boom.

"Fuck!"

Dropping the remains of the bat, Casey dove behind the couch to escape the barrage of gunfire. Attempting to catch his breath, he grabbed a hockey stick from underneath the couch. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the remote control sitting on a couch cushion. Grabbing it in one hand, he rose swiftly and hurled it toward the man's head. The unexpected assault caught him in the eye, disorienting him momentarily. Casey took advantage of the moment and leapt over the couch, swinging the hockey stick with all his strength at the Chinese man's head.

"Goongala!"

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><p>April spun into the back bedroom like a whirling dervish, Emma clutching desperately to her old T-shirt. She threw open the walk-in closet door and placed Emma hurriedly inside. The small girl looked up at the older woman, scared and confused. April knelt down carefully and ran a hand over her coarse hair, trying to keep a confident smile on her face.<p>

"It's ok, Emma. Stay here. I'll be back."

She closed the door firmly and snatched her tessen from the drawer before running back toward the living room. April darted back through the dark hallway and emerged into the light to see her fiancé swinging his trademark hockey stick at the gunman. Ducking out of his reach easily, the man raised his gun, aiming for Casey's head. Opening her tessen with a quick flick of her wrist, she spun it like a boomerang at the tall Chinese man. He drew his gun hand toward his face and cried out in pain as the sharp edge of the tessen sliced deeply into his cheek. Blood flowed liberally from the fresh cut as the tessen flew harmlessly into a corner, embedding itself into the wall.

The gunman's eyes flickered with something akin to anger as he glared coldly in her direction for a fleeting moment. In the blink of an eye, he had sprinted behind her and swung the barrel of his gun in a downward strike. The blow from the gun came so suddenly, April didn't have any time to react. She cried out in pain as she fell heavily to the ground. The man grabbed a handful of red hair, pulling a dazed April up to her knees.

"April!"

The intruder held the gun closely against the side of April's head. Casey stopped short, his hockey stick still raised defensively.

"Drop it, or I put a bullet in her head."

Casey dropped the hockey stick to the carpet, raising his hands in surrender.

"Alright, it's on the ground. Please, man, she's pregnant. Don't hurt her…" The vigilante pled in a tone that April had never heard from him before. It scared her more than the gun pressed against her head.

"Casey…" The terrified redhead gasped painfully.

"It's ok, Red. You're going to be ok." Casey tried to keep his voice reassuring, but the attempt came across as desperate. The Asian's eyes flashed with impatience as he glared at the dark haired man in across the room.

"Where is the girl? Give her to me, and the woman walks away," he pushed the gun further into April's mussed red hair.

"Casey, no!" April cried, trying to shake her head but was prevented by the man's unrelenting grip.

"Tell me where the girl is!" he shouted, his patience visibly wearing thin as blood flowed down his cheek from the tessen swipe, soaking his shirt collar a bright crimson.

Casey looked into April's wide blue eyes. She was fighting back tears with the stubborn ferocity that he loved so much.

"You have until I count to three to hand her over to me… one." The intruder's ringed finger tightened on the trigger. April stiffened, but refused to show fear. Casey's eyes were terrified, flickering between the gun and the Asian's face.

"Two." April closed her eyes, waiting for the swift end. Casey's panicked voice stalled the gunman's action.

"STOP!" Casey cried out, his face wracked with fear and deep emotional pain, "Alright, I'll tell you… just don't hurt them, please."

"No!" April struggled harder in the Asian's tight grip.

"The girl..?" he inquired again, twisting the gun with more force against the side of April's head. The redhead hissed sharply in pain. Casey lowered his eyes in defeat.

"The back bedroom. In the closet." It was the only place April could have put her that would keep her away from this lunatic.

The man pulled the gun away from the side of his captive's head with a disgusting smile on his face.

"Thank you."

He turned the gun on Casey with a quick flick of his wrist and pulled the trigger. The explosion of the gunshot filled the whole apartment. April screamed. Casey grunted in agony as he fell backward, holding the bleeding hole in his chest. The man released April's hair unceremoniously and she scrambled to her fiancée's side.

"Oh my God, Casey!"

She grabbed his hand in both of hers and she stared at the gaping hole in his upper chest region. It looked like the bullet had passed through his left pectoral muscle and the wound was bleeding profusely. April whirled back toward the Asian as he strolled leisurely toward the dark hallway that led to the back bedroom.

"You evil son of a bitch!" she screamed brokenly, tears running down her face. The man paused before looking at her over his shoulder.

"I will let _you_ live; I respect a woman who has the courage to bear a child."

He disappeared down the darkened hallway. A pained groan escaped from Casey's lips, bringing April's attention back to him. Blood was flowing freely from the open wound, pooling under his back onto the wood floor. The redhead ripped off her T- shirt and wadded it up into the gunshot wound, applying heavy pressure to staunch the bleeding.

"Casey… Casey, stay with me, _please_!" April pled desperately, applying more pressure to the wound. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans, pulling out her T-Phone.

"April," Casey rasped gutturally, squeezing her hand with as much strength as he could, "I love you… I love you so much. Take care of our kid, ok?" His eyes rolled back in his head and his head lolled to the side.

"No!"

April desperately started punching the number keys with bloody fingers. _Damn it, you can't_ _die on me now… I need you_. Still holding the phone to her ear, she continued applying pressure to the wound with the bloody shirt in her free hand. The man emerged from the shadows of the darkened hall, carrying a distraught Emma in his arms. The little girl was struggling violently in his grasp, screaming fearfully at the stranger. The Chinese man, unfazed by the verbal assault, stopped before the couple and smirked down on them wickedly. April was too deep in shock from what she had just seen to cover herself from his intimate perusal of her naked breasts and torso.

"Thank you for holding the child for us, madam," the tall man said coolly as he gazed down at the damage he had done, "We might not have been able to find her if the mutants still had her."

He bowed to her slightly before stepping through the ruined door, not bothering to close it behind him. Emma was reaching desperately back toward April, babbling in absolute terror and staring at the bloody scene with wide frightened eyes. All that April O'Neil could do was stare helplessly after the disappearing forms and listen to the ominous dial tone in her ear.

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><p><strong>Shame on me, leaving you all with a double cliffhanger! <strong>

**Just in case the timeline was confusing at all, some of the events within the chapters overlap a little as to when they occur. I don't want you all to think that Liu was super speedy and got to the apartment within a few minutes. He's a bad guy, but not super human. (This disclaimer was just in case you were confused. Sorry if you still are.) **

**Be on the lookout for the new chapter, not sure when it'll be up yet. Very soon, I promise! **


	12. Chapter 12

***Peeks out from behind bunker built for protection from angry Casey fans***

**Is it safe to come out…? Ok, here's my peace offering. Apologies again for the outrageous cliffhanger from the last chapter. Thanks to all 50 people who are following 'My Little Girl'! You are all amazing and I wish that I could do more to express my gratitude, like bake cookies or something like that! Hope you all enjoy!**

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><p>"Goddamn that little knucklehead. Where the hell could he be?" Raphael complained loudly as he stomped his heavy boots irritably. Leo ignored the question as he blew into his hands and massaged vigorously them for warmth. It was getting close to midnight and Donatello hadn't shown up yet. Leonardo secretly hoped that he didn't have to be searching for <em>two<em> missing brothers tonight. He was anxious enough as it was.

The three turtle brothers had arranged to meet up at an alley off of 86th where Leo had parked the Shellraiser a little before midnight. Leo had sanctioned off sectors for each of the brothers to search: Raph went back to the lair and the surrounding areas, Donnie went to Central Park and towards the river and Leo searched the area surrounding the pharmacy where Mikey had been last seen.

The temperature was dropping more and more as the evening wore on, forcing the turtles to slip into their winter gear for the search. Since Raph's jacket had been ruined on the night that he brought Emma to the lair, he had to grab a spare from his closet while he was at the lair. The faded black jacket was patched from heavy use and an inch too small on each arm. Needless to say, the jacket did little to keep the chill from settling in Raph's bones, making him more short tempered than usual.

Leo had gotten to the Shellraiser first, right on time, of course, waiting about five minutes before Raph had appeared. He was irritable and chilled to the bone, despite his winter getup. For about fifteen more minutes, Raph grumbled loudly and paced the length of the alley while Leo sat quietly on the roof of the Shellraiser, stoically ignoring the complaints that resonated from below and focusing on the street view just ahead of him.

A metallic rumbling announced the arrival of Donnie, who dropped down from the fire escape landing above. He landed lightly beside his red masked brother and shivered involuntarily, rubbing his arms vigorously. The blue clad turtle slid from the roof and joined the others in the alley.

"Any luck, guys?" The tall turtle asked, his breath rising in heavy fog from beneath his purple hood. Both of his brothers shook their heads in exasperation.

"Nowhere near the pharmacy," Leo informed him, shaking his head in some confusion, "I don't think he ever got there. I combed that area for an hour but didn't see any sign of him."

"He didn't go back to the lair," Raph reported shortly, "Master Splinter hadn't heard from him either." The hothead crossed his arms and leaned heavily against the brick wall of the alley, silently cursing his baby brother for going AWOL.

"And he's still not answering his phone." Donnie pressed his lips in concern, looking up into the dark February sky, "I've got a really bad feeling about this, guys. What if he-"

As if on cue, a cheerful ringtone chimed through the cold and each brother dug through his jacket pockets, pulling out his T-Phone. Donnie's phone was the only one that had been ringing. Raph and Leo looked expectantly at their genius brother as he checked the caller ID. The brightening of his expression told his older brothers exactly who was calling him.

"Hey April." Donnie greeted the redhead in a bright voice, leaning nonchalantly against the graffitied side of the Shellraiser as he spoke. He listened silently for a few moments and the smile slowly died from his face.

"April, what's wrong?" Leo and Raph looked up at their brother's face, alarmed at the change. _Is the baby here already?_ _It's only been like, what, five months? _Raph thought concernedly as he searched Donnie's face. The poor turtle looked absolutely ill with a mix of terrible emotions.

"Oh, my God…, "Donnie gasped breathily, passing a hand over his green pate anxiously, "Oh, my God, are you alright? What happened?"

Leo's eyes narrowed as he listened to his brother's side of the conversation. Donnie's skin had turned a ghastly grey color and his large brown eyes were wide with horror.

"Casey… Oh, God," the genius breathed in awestruck anguish, "What about Emma, is she ok?"

Raph's blood ran cold. _God, no… _

"God… oh my…. Holy shit…, "Donnie sputtered speechlessly, his brain in a whirl as he processed what he was hearing, "Y-You're sure you're going to be ok? What about the baby?"

Donnie listened for a few long moments before sighing heavily, the fog from his relieved sigh curling upward into the dark night sky.

"That's a relief, at least. Ok, just… keep us updated, ok? I'm glad you're ok."

He hung up the phone with shaking fingers before looking up at his brothers with large, glassy eyes.

"April's at the hospital. Someone forced his way into the apartment and shot Casey."

The stunned silence that filled the alley was deafening. Raph couldn't think, let alone breathe. He turned and punched the brick wall behind him, just so that he could feel something. The pain in his hand did little to distract him as his brain drew gory pictures of what must have happened. Casey; lying in a growing pool of his own blood, his cold, dead eyes staring at nothing. Raph squeezed his eyes closed, trying to clear the images from his head, but to no avail.

"Oh, God… Casey's…" Leo started quietly and faltered, unable to say it, let alone believe it.

"Not dead, thank God," Donnie assured quickly, swallowing hard to keep his voice from cracking, "He's in surgery, so she doesn't know anything else yet. April's got a mild concussion because the son of a bitch hit her with the gun, but they say baby's ok." Donnie's fists tightened in his indignant rage.

"And Emma?" Raph asked quietly, turning back toward Donnie while dreading the answer that he already knew was coming. Donnie drew a shaky breath and looked directly into his brother's wide green eyes.

"He took her, Raph," Donnie stated simply a quiet, frightened voice, "The man forced Casey to tell him where they were hiding her, and as soon as he did, the man shot him in the chest."

Raph started hyperventilating, his mind going completely blank. He covered his face with one large hand as he turned away from his brothers searching gazes.

"No…" he muttered under his breath. _This can't be happening… Casey's… and Emma's… Oh, my God. _Leo approached and put a hand on Raph's shoulder, disconcerted by the acute trembling coursing through his brother's body.

"Raph, we'll-" Leo didn't have the opportunity to finish consoling his brother when Raph's large fist smashed into his face. The leader fell heavily to the ground, too stunned to fight back. Raph throttled Leo and started laying into him, putting all of his strength into each solid punch.

"You son of a bitch! This is all _your_ fault!" Raph screamed hysterically as he pummeled his brother in a blind rage, "_You_ made me come with you on your stupid mission! You're the reason Casey's dying and Emma's in the hands of those bastards!"

"Raph…" Leo protested weakly, but Raph was beyond all reason. Donnie ran up behind Raph, grabbing his arm mid-swing in an attempt to pull him off of Leo.

"Raph! _Stop_! This isn't going to help anything!"

"And _you_!" Raph whirled on Donnie, jerking his arm out of his brother's slightly weaker grasp as he rose to his feet, "_You_ suggested taking Emma to the surface! If she'd stayed down in the sewers, she'd be safe right now! If we'd kept her down there…"

"She could have gotten worse and probably would have died," Donnie held his ground, though he watched his brother warily as Raph bore down on him menacingly, "She was _sick_, Raph. We did what we needed to do, and she was getting better."

The fury was coursing through Raph's blood like a poison, clouding his vision and tinging it red, all at once. His body quivered in reaction and he was snarling like a wounded bear, snapping at anyone who was unfortunate enough to be in his way. Donnie fell back a step when Raph raised his clenched fist with a pained roar.

He never got the chance to deliver the intended blow. An unrelenting force tackled him to the ground, knocking the wind out of the red clad turtle. Leo had risen from his defensive position and had thrown himself at his irate brother, laying him out flat on his plastron. Leo straddled him, keeping his securely arms under Raph's plastron, pulling his shell into himself in a modified judo hold.

"Get off me, you bastard!" Raph bellowed, struggling in his older brother's grasp. Leo obstinately held fast, not allowing Raph any movement. The tough turtle snarled maliciously in the leader's hold.

"_Raphael_! That's _enough_!" Leo ordered in his sternest voice, ignoring the stinging pain from the cuts and growing bruises on his face.

"Damn you!" Raph bucked and thrashed violently, trying to shake his brother off of his shell. Leo's knowledgeable grasp held the hothead immobile on the ground.

The fight drained quickly from Raphael's being as he pictured Emma's sweet face in his mind's eye. Hot tears pricked his eyes as he thought of her sweet smile, of her bright, curious eyes, and of her tiny hands that caressed his face with so much genuine affection.

Raph's heart was breaking, and he was terrified. Terrified of failing Emma, terrified of losing her forever. Even in the short time that they had been together, she had stolen his heart; he wasn't even hesitant to admit it. She had a lot of qualities that Raph secretly admired: fearlessness, curiosity, boldness and a determination that would allow nothing to hold her back. Also, there were those green eyes that arrested all the attention in a room and her joyful laughter that warmed his heart in spite of himself. It was hard to be the tough guy when an adorable little girl looked up to you like you were the only thing in the world that mattered.

"D-Damn you…," Raph's shaky breathing slowed, became ragged as his voice broke sorrowfully. He raked in a heavy sob as he pressed his forehead into the gravel, his heart constricting painfully in his chest. Leo gradually relaxed his grip, curling his head into Raph's large shoulder in an embrace. Donnie walked around quietly and knelt beside his brothers, rubbing Raph's shell with a comforting hand, his chocolate brown eyes welling up with tears. The brothers sat like that for a few minutes, the cold alley filled with the sounds of Raph's heavy, desperate sobs. After a while, he quieted, his breathing still shallow and his mask stained with cold tears. He couldn't look up at his brothers when he spoke.

"I p-promised her…," Raph whispered brokenly, "Leo, I promised to k-keep her safe. When it came down to it, I-I couldn't even d-do that… I-She… and Casey…"

"Casey's going to be okay, Raph," Donnie assured in a quiet voice, not entirely sure of itself, "He's in the hospital and in very good hands."

Raph shook his head wearily, his cheek brushing the gravel lightly.

"I should have stayed with her… If I'd been there, this wouldn't have happened. Emma wouldn't be back in the hands of those… and Casey wouldn't be…" Raph shuddered in deep despair, tears threatening to overcome him again.

Leo shook his head slowly, his mask tails swishing gently and trailing the ground.

"This wasn't your fault, Raph. You can't blame yourself for this," Leo rose gently and allowed Raph to sit up, convinced that his moment of mindless fury was over. The red masked turtle sat up slowly, running a hand over his tear streaked face and attempting to regain his composure. The leader considered the hunched figure of his little brother with a cool fury on his behalf, "If you want to punish someone, Raph, punish the monsters who did this."

A spark ignited behind Raph's eyes, fiery and intense. Leo saw it and understood exactly what Raph had in mind: blood for blood. Under normal circumstances, the leader would be disconcerted by the look in his brother's eyes. But these weren't normal circumstances.

Donnie's eyes widened in remembrance as he pushed himself stiffly to his feet and brushed dust and gravel from his trouser legs.

"Uh, guys?" Leo and Raph glanced up at their tall brother, "There's something else… I think that the guy who took Emma may have Mikey too."

Raph and Leo looked at one another, recognizing the implications immediately.

"That _does_ makes a lot of sense," Leo pondered aloud, "How _else_ could he have known where Emma was hiding?"

Raph was silently seething, clenching his fists in his lap and grinding his teeth together. _Fuck those Genetech bastards_. They had kidnapped his brother, probably tortured him, threatened and shot his best friend and had stolen Emma, his precious little girl. _Those bastards are going to pay…_

"So, what do we do now?" Donnie asked, alarmed at the feral look in Raph's face.

"We find where they're keeping Mikey and Emma, and we go break them out." Leo stated shortly, glancing between his brothers with hard eyes. Donnie hesitated, pulling his eyes off of Raph's livid face and nodded earnestly.

"Agreed. Maybe the video surveillance that we set up in Kinder's office will give us more of a clue."

He bounded into the Shellraiser, opening the doors with the remote on the keys. Offering his Raph his hand, Leo supported him to his feet and the two of them shuffled after their genius brother up into the modified subway car. Donnie had pulled open his laptop, and was setting it carefully onto a level space on the navigation platform. He tapped a few keys and pulled up the surveillance feed of the sparse office space. The video quality was incredibly clear and showed an empty office with the real time displayed in the bottom right hand corner. Leo and Raph leaned over his shoulder in order to get a better look at the picture.

"Now we go back a ways…" Donnie said as he hit the 'rewind' button. The chronological time clock at the bottom of the feed zipped backwards for about a minute before two men walked backwards into view. "There!" He slowed the rewinding action for a few moments, following their movements with intense scrutiny. The two men seemed to pass a cell phone between themselves, so Donnie rewound the footage until just before the larger man answered the phone. The audio from the closest microphone picked up the man's words as clearly as if he were standing in the Shellraiser with them.

_"Leon."_

The man's voice was gruff and low, like a chain smoker, as he grunted the greeting. He paused for only a fraction of a moment before replying anxiously.

_ "Did ya nail the son of a bitch, Liu?"_

Raph could see the man's eyes light up excitedly as he stood up a little straighter. His fingers dug into the back of Donnie's chair, barely controlling his rage as he studied the man's face. _They're talking about Mikey… I'm gonna kill this Liu character, whoever the hell he is for laying a hand on him._

_ "And the kid?"_

Leon's shoulders slumped lightly at the negative answer, grabbing the attention of Kinder. The president strolled over to the man on the phone, holding out his hand expectantly.

_ "Give me the phone, Hank, I want to talk to him."_

Leon shrugged lightly as he handed over the cell phone. Kinder raised the phone to his ear.

_ "This is Jim Kinder. So… it is true, Liu? It's a… a mutant?"_

The suited man listened for a moment, his eyes widening in disbelief. He loosened his tie a fraction as he cleared his throat.

_ "A mutant turtle… that's extraordinary," _Kinder said wonderingly, shaking his head slightly, _"I want to take a better look at it, Liu."_

Kinder stopped his pacing suddenly, frowning slightly and huffing impatiently as if he were speaking to a belligerent child.

_ "So, bring it to the Riverside District facility so that we can run some tests."_

Glancing to the large man who leaned on the wall, Kinder grinned wickedly in the direction of the camera, giving Raph an unadulterated view of his clean shaven face. He couldn't think of a face he hated more at that moment, not even the Shredder's.

_ "I have not forgotten," _Kinder was replying quietly, his eyes bright and overly confident,_ "We will make him tell us where the girl is… then, when we have both the girl and the mutant, we _all_ will be rich."_

"Those bastards are dead." Raph murmured, grinding his teeth wrathfully. He didn't see the infinitesimal nod from his older brother. Leo didn't want to imagine what those lunatics were doing to his baby brother or to the little girl, but they were planning to capitalize on Mikey and Emma somehow. Leo could feel his blood boiling at the thoughts reeling though his head.

Donnie paused the video feed, not needing to hear anymore. The screen was frozen on the smug smiles of the two men. He studied those faces, thinking about April's terrified voice, recounting what had happened and apologizing over and over for it. His chest constricted at the thought that she blamed herself for Emma's kidnapping and Casey's attempted murder.

"Riverside District facility…," the genius drawled thoughtfully turned back to look at his brothers over his shoulder, "That's where that secretary was taking some papers for one of the scientists."

"And that's where they're keeping Mikey," Leo observed, his steely blue eyes studying the faces on the laptop screen, "We'll get him out and then focus on finding Emma."

Donnie typed a few more keystrokes onto the keyboard, pulling up a map of the Upper West Side and scanning it for the location of the genetics laboratory. Leo placed a hand on Raph's shoulder, meeting his fiery green eyes and seeing the intense fury burning there. There was going to be blood tonight, and Leo wasn't sure that he was going to stop Raph from exacting vengeance on these people. Hell, he wasn't sure that he wouldn't help.

"We _will_ find them, Raph. We'll also destroy those guys for what they have done. Count on it."

"For once, Fearless, you and I can agree on something."

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><p><strong>Just for the record, I wasn't planning on killing Casey off for good. I love him too much for that. He's a great character and Raph's best friend, which is why I needed to beat him up a bit. If you've got time to leave a review, please do! Thank you all for reading!<strong>

**Also, Happy New Years to everybody!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello again, everybody! Hope everyone's new year has been wonderful so far and I sincerely hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>As the dark car careened through the night time traffic of the city, Emma sat shivering in the passenger seat and reflecting on how her hope for a new and wonderful life had been destroyed in one awful night.<p>

First, she had gotten sick, which had been bad enough, but then someone had blown up the door of the nice red haired lady's house. Emma had been sleeping, but the loud noise had woken her up, and the nice man with no teeth and the lady had started yelling and running. Suddenly, she was moving, hugging the lady's shirt as she ran away. Emma had been placed in the closet and the lady, April, promised that she would be back soon before closing the door, cloaking her in darkness.

Emma had heard a lot of loud banging, a lot of screaming and crying. She had trembled in the darkness, afraid of what might come through the door. Then, the scary man with the thin eyes and the long black coat had opened the door and had roughly picked her up. Frightened beyond belief, she screamed at him, trying to push him away with her hands, but no matter how hard she pushed, he wouldn't let go.

When they had come back to the living room, she had seen the nice man, Casey, lying in a red puddle on the floor, and April pushing something into his chest. Casey looked like he was hurt, bad, and the April was crying. Emma had cried out for the lady to let her stay, that the scary man wouldn't take her away, but April had just stared at her, not understanding.

The scary man had hustled out her out into the cold, clutching her securely in his long coat and had set her hurriedly in his car. She had been so cold, her teeth had started chattering and she had whined at her captor, pleading for him to turn up the heat. He hadn't even looked at her as he had sped away from the building, not seeming to care about the state of her comfort. Emma watched as he pulled a phone from his pocket and hit a few buttons before raising it to his ear.

"Mr. Leon," the man's voice was so soft that Emma almost didn't hear him over the din of the traffic, "The girl is in my possession."

He listened to the muffled voice on the phone, nodding solemnly a few times.

"Where is that?" the man asked after a few blocks, looking shortly at the GPS affixed to the dashboard. Emma studied his face, hoping against hope that he wasn't taking her back to the lab. _Anywhere but there…_

"Very good." He hung up the phone and slipped it into the cup holder before gripping the wheel tightly with both hands.

"I can't believe that a little mite like you is going to grow up to be a killer," Liu scoffed as he stopped at a red light. He took the opportunity to look her over, an ugly look coming over his face as he considered the pink onesie with a daisy printed on it, white socks with ruffles and a large red hair bow pinned into her curly hair. "It's a good thing that you have no choice," he said quietly, "You would be very dangerous if you could choose." The light changed to green and the man didn't say another word after that.

The drive seemed, to Emma, to take years, though in reality, it took only about a half an hour. The scary man parked the car in front of the glass-faced building that bore the purple and red logo above the door.

"Welcome home," he said in a mocking tone, snatching her up and holding her solidly in his arms as he stepped out of the car. Emma didn't even try to resist; she knew that even if she could get away, she didn't know where she could go. Turning his shoulder against the cold, the scary man walked briskly through the glass doors of the laboratory. Despite her fear of him, she clung to the man, desperate for warmth from the frigid chill that racked her small body.

The reception area was empty, save for a couple of women in scrubs leaning against the reception desk and speaking in low voices. One of the women stopped talking abruptly, her nervous eyes fixed on the intimidating man who had just burst through the door, holding a frightened looking baby girl in his arms. The other, a plump, cheerful woman in her mid-thirties followed her friend's gaze and jerked to attention. She scurried over toward the pair with the worried fussiness of a mother hen.

"Are you Mr. Liu?" the woman inquired kindly, her round face stretched into a genial smile. "My name is Kathy Ramsey, Dr. Salonga's assistant. I can take her from here." She offered warmly as she held her hands open toward Emma.

"Please." The man said coldly as he dumped the girl unceremoniously into the woman's fleshy arms. Kathy, seemingly taken aback by the man's bluntness, fumbled Emma slightly before grasping her more confidently and glared openly at the Asian man's lack of care. Liu completely ignored the woman's look and glanced around him impatiently, "Is there somewhere where I can get my face cleaned up?"

A muscle jerked in Kathy's right eye at the man's imperious tone. "Yes sir. Down the hall and to the right. One of the nurses will get that stitched up."

Mr. Liu bowed slightly to her with a cold sneer and departed, gliding down the harshly lighted hallway. Emma's chest felt a little less tight at the man's departure and she found herself breathing a little easier.

"Arrogant bastard…" Kathy mumbled under her breath, shaking her head disapprovingly after the man's retreating figure. She looked down at Emma and smiled gently as they strolled briskly down one of the hallways, "Let's get you ready for bed, dearie. You've got to be exhausted."

Emma looked up into the kind brown eyes of the woman, hoping to find some sympathy there. She found it in abundance, though the little girl knew that there wasn't much good that could come from sympathy. The nurse pounded a key code outside one of the doors and it slid open, revealing the space that Emma recognized as her old bedroom. Kathy strutted inside and lay Emma gently on a plastic changing table.

"Whoever was looking after you was doing a pretty good job," Kathy remarked as she unclasped the fasteners on the girl's onesie and slipped it over her head, "Got yourself a nice little outfit on, a fresh nappy and a pretty red bow in your hair."

Emma didn't struggle against the woman as she changed her diaper and slipped her back into the onesie. Having calmed considerably, she tried to return the smile that Kathy gave her, though her heart wasn't entirely in it.

The nurse lay the little girl down on her back on the table and ran a hand over her curly hair. "I'm surly sorry that they caught up with you, dearie," she whispered softly, and Emma believed her.

The key-coded locked beeped loudly as the door behind the pair slid open. The tall doctor who had been responsible for Emma's tests and treatments stepped through the doorway, clutching a plastic case in one hand. Emma's suspicious eyes followed the doctor's movements as he set his case on the table next to her and stood over her like a grim specter, smiling grotesquely.

"Well, hello again." The doctor said as he bent over her. Emma felt her stomach tighten in terror but refused to cry. Crying hadn't saved her in the past, and she was fairly certain that crying wasn't going to save her now. The doctor opened the case and started pulling out supplies.

"Just have a little business to take care of, then you can get some sleep." He said casually, like he did this sort of thing every day of the week. Which, of course, he had. For the first whole year of Emma's life.

He held up one of the things that he had pulled from the case: a syringe with a large, sharp needle. Emma's eyes widened in horror and she could feel the hair on her neck prickling. She tried backing away from the doctor, vainly attempting to put as much distance between them as possible.

"Kathy, hold her down, please," The doctor said in a bored voice, checking the syringe for air bubbles.

Responding quickly, the nurse turned a struggling Emma onto her stomach and held her down gently with both hands as the doctor grappled with one of the girl's pudgy legs. Pushing up Emma's diaper a little bit, he injected the needle into her bottom and slowly pushed in the plunger. Emma squealed in discomfort and fright, balling her fists into her eyes as he repeated the process with two other syringes. She whimpered piteously, as the doctor grabbed her other leg. The doctor administered three more shots, each injection more painful than the last. Kathy rubbed the little girl's back in a feeble attempt at comfort, but not surprisingly, Emma didn't feel comforted by the touch. She felt violated and very alone.

"She's getting stronger," the doctor commented as he removed his latex gloves and threw them into the medical waste with the empty syringes. "Soon enough, she'll start getting faster too, God willing those gene stabilizers work the way they should."

Kathy frowned visibly at the glint of excitement in his eye and glanced over the little girl on the table. Emma looked up at her with teary eyes, pleading for help.

"It won't be long before Mr. Leon will put her into desensitization training. Can't have her getting cold feet when carrying out a hit," the doctor jested lightly as he turned back to face the plump nurse. The doctor frowned heavily and knit his brows together as he noted her look of acute guilt.

"Don't even think about it, Kathy," the doctor warned darkly, "Remember what happened to Miriam. She got soft hearted, did something stupid and now she's dead. Your job is to see to the girl's needs: food, diapers, cleaning, stuff like that. That's it. That is all that is required of you."

The nurse looked less than satisfied by his words. The doctor walked around the table and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him.

"Look, her life sucks, I know, and I feel like shit about it too, but it is what it is. She doesn't belong to us. She belongs to some foreign government, and in a few years, she'll be shipped off to them and it won't be our problem anymore. That's all there is to it, got it?"

"Yes, doctor." Kathy murmured unhappily, looking at the floor in shame.

"Good," he clapped her on the shoulders genially, assured that he had gotten his point across, "Now, I've got to go check on the mutant. See if enough of the drugs have left his system so that I can start on some tests,"

"You should get some rest," the doctor advised with a generous smile, "Don't worry about the girl. She's going to be fine," he assured when he caught her stealing another pitying glance in Emma's direction.

Kathy nodded sadly, lifting Emma gently from the table and pressed her into her broad chest. The little girl clung desperately to the woman's scrubs, desperate for some comfort from the stinging pain in her backside.

"I'm so sorry, little one," the nurse said quietly into her curly hair as she placed the trembling child into the clear plastic crib, "This shouldn't be the life you're living."

Emma sniffed wretchedly as the older woman cupped her face with one hand regretfully before sheepishly following the doctor out the key-coded door. The metal door slid shut with a final swoosh, leaving Emma with only her tortured thoughts to keep her company.

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><p>For as long as she could remember, Emma had felt afraid. There were always new things happening to her, none of them very pleasant. She would be taken somewhere new to be tested, given a new medicine, be put into a strange room all alone and bright lights shone in her eyes. She hated it… she hated the fear and the pain that accompanied it all.<p>

The first time that Emma could remember even seeing a smile was when the nice woman with the large glasses had held her for the first time, just after she was born. She liked to smile, talk, and snuggle with her. Emma had liked how the woman smelled, how her eyes had lit up when she saw her. She especially liked what the woman had called her. _Emma. _It made her feel… special.

Then, the lady hadn't been around anymore, almost like she had disappeared. Emma wondered where she had gone. Had that lady been her mommy? Did she have a mommy? The lady had read her stories about mommies and daddies… so Emma supposed the lady _had_ been her mommy. She had always taken care of her like a mommy should.

Emma thought back sadly to the funny green family who had taken her home with them. They were all really nice. They smiled and laughed and talked to her. They liked to play games and have fun, just like she had always imagined a family would. She had never felt lonely, or sad, or scared when she was with them. She had felt… at home. She loved all of them so much, though, somehow, there was one that she absolutely adored: the one in the red mask.

She loved the atmosphere of security that surrounded him. When she was with him, she had felt safe. She had known that he was safe the first time that she had laid eyes on him, in that alley, singing a song to her in words that she didn't know. It had been freezing cold but his low, rich voice had made her feel comfortable and secure, like a large stuffed quilt enveloping her.

The way that he had looked at her, had taken care of her… he must be her daddy. Nothing else made any sense to her…but if he _was_ her daddy, why wasn't he here? Emma was so confused. _Doesn't he want me anymore? Is that why the scary man had come and took me back here? _

Her lips quivered violently as she looked around the dark room and ran her tiny hands over the threadbare blanket that covered the thin mattress. She missed the 'lair' as the green men had called it. She missed the food that smelled and tasted so good. She missed the warm smiles and laughter of her new family. But it seemed that all of that was long gone. All she had to look forward to now was more pain and more loneliness. She rolled over onto her tummy and sniffled miserably, not sure if she could sleep for the ache in her lower body from the shots and from the ache of loneliness in her heart.

All she wanted to do now, was to go home, read the caterpillar book with Daddy and snuggle with him in the couch in the living room. She really missed him…

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><p>The moon cast a ghostly glow on the river as three figures glided through the night, as silent as spirits themselves. One by one, the three turtle brothers landed on the roof of the genetics laboratory and found refuge in the shadows.<p>

"Looks like this is our best way in." Donatello confirmed in a hushed voice, pointing to the wide glass skylight that protruded out of the roof in a large dome. Leonardo nodded seriously in acknowledgement and cast a sidelong glance at his younger brother.

"Think you can crack the security codes from here, Donnie?"

"Does Big Foot shit in the woods?" Donnie replied rhetorically, smirking at his brother over his shoulder with confidence.

Leo gave him a strange look at his crass choice of words, but shrugged and allowed his genius brother to go to work. Donnie pulled his laptop from his bag, attached it to his T-Phone and began typing furiously.

Raphael was employing every ounce of will power that he had to keep himself from busting through the front door and burning the place to the ground. He had to stick to the plan, or else they may lose Mikey, or Emma, or worse, both of them. That meant, for now, he needed to stand back and allow Donnie to do his thing. With that done, Raph could go to work doing his own thing: kicking Kinder's ass from here to Queens and getting his little brother back.

"Got it." Donnie grunted in satisfaction as the red light on his T-Phone turned green, signaling his access to the security codes. Slipping the tip of his katana under the locking mechanism, Leo jimmied it open easily and slid the pane up with as little sound as he could manage.

"Come on, Raph. Let's go bust Mikey out." Leo said quietly as he secured a line to the roof and tossed it through the open window. He checked the tensile strength before sliding down the rope into Genetech Laboratories.

_Hang in there, Mikey. We'll be there soon, _Raph pled silently as he slipped through the open pane after Donnie and dropped down into the empty room below.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey there, everyone! Took a little longer to get this one typed up, but here it is. Hope you all enjoy it! Be sure to review and let me know what you think. I love hearing from all of you!**

**My Little Girl has hit 50+ favorites and 100+ reviews! Thank you all for being so amazing!**

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><p>Leonardo was the first turtle to propel down the rope and duck into the shadows behind a piece of technical equipment. His serious blue eyes watched Donatello, then Raphael descend to the floor and disappear into the shadows as well. As silent as a whisper, the leader slipped through the darkness on silent feet, ready to meet anyone who may be lurking in the shadows with them. He gently rapped his knuckles three times, then twice more against the side of the farther wall, issuing an 'all clear signal'. He heard the 'rat-a-tat, rat-tat' repeated from his right, then from his left as his brothers repeated the signal that the room empty save for the three of them.<p>

Leo, still practicing a great amount of caution, lurked through the shadows to the front of the room where stood a large metallic door with a large electronic key pad guarding it, shutting the room up tight. Donatello withdrew the auxiliary cable from his bag once again and attached it to the key pad. Slipping the jack into his T-Phone, the genius ran the same decoding program to crack the security code. With a loud beep, the door lock clicked and Raph checked the resistance of the handle. The knob turned easily. Leo addressed Donnie with a quiet, stern voice.

"Donnie, go see if you can get into the computers and find out where they took Emma. Raph and I will find Mikey."

Donnie raised an eye ridge at him questioningly. The leader flickered a short, quick glance toward Raph, providing Donnie with all he needed to know: Leo didn't want to leave Raph alone right now.

"Establish radio communication in thirty minutes," Leo continued, "If you don't hear from us by then, get out of here." Donnie looked a little rebellious for a moment, but he nodded in acceptance. He reached into the bag and pulled out two com links. The genius turtle installed one to his big brother's ear before slipping the other into his own.

The three brothers slipped out of the room and Donnie slipped away down the dark corridor, vanishing from sight around a sharp corner. Drawing his katanas, Leo threw a glance toward Raph, who in turn drew his sais and held them defensively.

"Let's go."

Without another word, Raph and Leo ran swiftly in the opposite direction that Donnie had taken. For the next few minutes, the two brothers slipped quietly through the winding halls, carefully avoiding the security cameras that were obscurely hidden in the ceilings. After the third long corridor, Leo craned his neck around a corner and started sharply. He held out a hand to Raph, stopping him in his tracks.

Standing before one of the metallic doors stood a tall, thin man in a lab coat. He was thoughtfully flipping through the papers on his clipboard, his back to the two turtles. Raph's eyes searched his brother's serious blue ones, a silent question lurking there. Leo nodded shortly in acquiescence and sneaked up behind the tall man's preoccupied figure on swift, silent feet, Raph close on his heels.

With a steely flash of movement, Leo smacked the man on the back of the head with the hilt of one sword. He grunted in pain as he dropped his clipboard to grab the place where he had been hit. Leo used his free hand to knock the man forward into the wall, which he hit with his shoulder before sliding to the ground. The man froze with his hand still pressed against the back of his head as he stared up at the two turtles and the sword pointed directly at his chest.

"Put your hands up," Leo said coldly.

The man lifted his hands timidly, his eyes not leaving the shining edge of the blade. Leo looked over the man who cowered at his feet. A laminated ID badge, like the one Miriam had had, identified him as **Dr. Douglas Salonga, MGG**.

"Where is my brother?" Leo was fairly sure that he didn't have to explain who he meant.

The man's frantic eyes flickered toward the door that he had been about to enter.

"Open it. _Now_!" Leo ordered, jerking the katana upward a fraction in a commanding gesture.

Dr. Salonga rose unsteadily to his feet and turned to the key pad lock affixed to the wall. His long fingers shook uncontrollably as he punched in the key code. There was a loud beep as the door slid open. Leo grabbed the back of the man's long lab coat and shoved him into the room ahead of him, Raph lumbering close behind them with a purposeful step.

The light from the hallway momentarily illuminated the many cages that lined the walls of the room for a few moments before the door slid shut. The chorus of unearthly shrieks and wails that came from the rats and monkeys in the cages sounded like the tortured screams of the damned. In the dim light, it was hard to make out the forms of the lab animals, but their glowing eyes and shining teeth betrayed their presence, even more than the noise. Raph fumbled for the light switch by the door and flicked it up, bathing the room in harsh, bright light.

Mikey sat on the floor of a large chain link cage near the back wall, his knees pulled into his plastron and his head buried into his knees. His hands and feet were secured with thick metal restraints, chained together like a high security prison inmate. Leo took in the many bruises and scrapes that decorated Mikey's face and body, especially the one that discolored the back of his head. He rarely got near the precipice of rage like Raph usually did, but as Leo stood looking over the demure form of his baby brother, he felt the hot tightness in his chest and his breathing grew shallow as he tried to force himself to stay calm.

"Mikey!"

The young turtle's head shot up at the sound of Raph's pained voice. Leo's eyes narrowed at the sight of the leather strapped muzzle that had been affixed to Mikey's head, forcing his mouth shut. Mikey stared with wide, disbelieving eyes at the forms of his brothers. He scrambled to his feet and staggered a little, clutching the links in the cage to help regain his balance.

"Mhm! Mm!" Mikey grunted through the muzzle as he shook the cage links frantically.

Raph's face was awash with relief and he bounded across the laboratory, awakening the hostile cries of the captive animals in the cages once again. He grasped the chain links over Mikey's large fingers. Leo shoved the man roughly across the floor, clenching the lab coat and the shirt beneath it unceremoniously as he propelled the trembling doctor further into the lab.

"Unlock the cage," Leo ordered coldly, shoving the frightened man forward toward the lock.

Dr. Salonga scowled mutinously at the leader for a fraction of a second before Raph's withering glare humbled the skinny doctor. He pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and selected one tentatively.

"Move it, or I'll gut you for the rats!" Raph threatened hotly, thrusting the tip of one sai toward the man's throat.

With a terrified squeak, the doctor stuck the key in the lock and jerked it open. Mikey's knees gave out as the cage door squeaked open and the young turtle sank to the floor, breathless. Raph pushed past Leo and the doctor and bolted through the cage door, kneeling before his baby brother.

"God, Mikey…" Raph breathed brokenly as he reached around Mikey's head to unhook the buckle that secured the muzzle. Leo's body trembled with silent fury as he looked over the clear imprints of a chain discoloring Mikey's throat as the youngest turtle looked gratefully up at his hotheaded brother.

"Keys for the cuffs?" Raph inquired shortly, holding out one large hand towards the figures outside the cage. Dr. Salonga shook his head jerkily.

"I-I-I don't have them." he stuttered, voice unsteady with terror.

Raph snarled up at the doctor and jammed the tip of one of his sais into the lock, jiggling it expertly. There was a soft click and the locks sprung open on the wrist restraints. The ankle cuffs were removed just as quickly and Raph tossed the chains into the far corner of the cage.

"Come on, Mike. Let's get you out of here."

Mikey nodded wearily and draped his arm over his broad shoulders as Raph pulled his him to his feet. He leaned heavily on his brother as they shuffled from the cage.

As soon as his brothers were clear of the cage entrance, Leo grabbed the keys from the doctor's trembling fingers and shoved him into the empty cage with one fluid movement. Stumbling heavily into the back links of the cage, Dr. Salonga protested indignantly as the blue clad turtle slammed the door closed behind him. Ignoring the protests, Leo locked the cage before turning his attention to his little brother. Raph pulled up a metal chair and set Mikey in it. The orange masked turtle looked like he was in pretty bad shape as he sat demurely in the chair.

"What happened, Mikey? Are you alright?" Leo asked with a quiet urgency. Mikey shook his head bewilderedly, his eyes slightly glassy.

"I went to get Emma's medicine when this chick blindsided me, guys. She attacked me, but I took her down." He looked sort of pleased with himself, his goofy grin sagging a little on tired lips before melting into a shameful pout. "Then, someone choked me, I didn't see who it was." Mikey massaged his bruised throat gingerly as he spoke. "I lost my chucks…," he finished lamely and stared at the floor.

Leo's gaze drifted to the bruises on Mikey's neck, his tactical mind analyzing the possibilities of where they may have come from.

Raph's eyes were fixated on Mikey's forearm that hung limply at his side. Leo followed the gaze and stared dumbly at the purpling bruise on the inside of Mikey's elbow. He swallowed back the bile rising in his throat and forced his mind to stay clear, to stay calm. Raph's teeth ground together and a rumbling growl resonated deep in his throat.

"What did they do to you?" Raph whirled on the terrified doctor, "_What did you do to him_?" Dr. Salonga cowered at the turtle's irate tone, huddling against the back of the cage.

"Raph," Leo warned reservedly, desperately attempting to curb his own temper. Raph exhaled heavily and raised his hands as if to say, 'I'm fine.'

"I really screwed up, bros," Mikey continued shakily, his breathing shallow and tearful, "I tried to fight it… but I couldn't do it…" He wrapped his arms around himself guiltily. Leo frowned at his brother's lament. _Couldn't do what? _

"Mikey, take a breath. Just tell us what happened."

Mikey did as Leo had asked and heaved a deep sigh. His voice was a little stronger as he spoke again.

"They stuck me with some drug. I don't know what it was. They made me tell 'em where Emma was." Raph stiffened visibly at his brother's admission, and Mikey must have sensed it because he stammered into speech quickly, his eyes carefully averted.

"I didn't want to, but… they made me," Hot tears pooled in the big blue eyes, threatening to spill over in a cascade, "I put Casey and April in danger, didn't I? Are they okay?" Mikey asked pleadingly, looking between his big brothers. Leo rested one hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"They're going to be fine, Mikey." he said kindly, not able to keep the melancholy tone from tinging his husky voice.

"Oh, God." Mikey covered his face with his hands, his whole body trembling violently. Seemingly disconcerted by his brother's distress, Raph knelt next to Mikey and rubbed his shell with one hand. The youngest turtle wiped hot tears from his eyes and looked sorrowfully into his brother's uncharacteristically kind eyes.

"I'm sorry, Raph. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect Emma better."

"It's going to be ok, Mikey. I swear. We're going to make those bastards pay for what they did to you and to Casey. We're going to find Emma and we're going to bring her home. Got it?"

Mikey hiccupped softly and nodded, his face set and determined.

Leo met the eyes of the doctor in the cage once more. He looked frightened, yet curious as his he studied Leo's shell and stance. A new genetic anomaly for him to study, no doubt.

Turning away from the man's scrutiny, he raised his hand to his communication link and hit the button that sent transmissions to the link in Donnie's ear.

"Donnie? We found Mikey. Come in, Don."

All that they leader could hear was the hissing white noise of static.

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><p>While Raph and Leo were searching the building for Mikey, Donatello was busy plugging his T-Phone into a key code pad next to a wooden office door and decoding the pass code that would open it. He had bypassed several generic looking metal doors, supposing them to be storage supply closets or small laboratories and had focused on finding an empty office space where he could access the computer systems through a mainframe connected monitor. The first wooden door that he had encountered bore the nameplate of a Dr. Douglas Salonga, MGG and Donnie had pulled up short at once. <em>The doctor who got the files from that hot secretary.<em> This was the place to find the answers he needed.

Quickly, he pulled the cable from his bag and attached one end into his T-Phone and the other into the key code pad. With a few short taps of the buttons, he issued the code-breaking command that would open the locked door. The key pad beeped loudly and the bolt lock clicked as it unlocked. Donnie tugged the door open and shut it quickly behind him. The office space was fairly small, with overflowing filing cabinets leaning against the wall and a cluttered wooden desk facing away from the door, a computer monitor in sleep mode residing on the desktop. _Bingo_.

Donnie slid into the office chair and pulled his laptop from his bag, connecting the cable to the jack in the computer tower. Within a few seconds, the two CPUs were synced and Donnie began typing furiously at the familiar keys of his laptop. He easily bypassed the security that surrounded the most important files within the Genetech mainframe. _Piece of cake, _he thought with an easy smile.

The obvious choice to Donnie was to hack into the security feed. His eyes scanned the frequencies for the little girl. He spotted Leo and Raph in a medical lab, shouting at a tall man in a lab coat. Mikey was standing in a large cage, something wrapped around his head and his hands and feed chained together. He scanned the rest of the security feeds carefully.

It wasn't long before he spotted Emma's pink onesie in one of the images and breathed a sigh of relief. She was asleep in a solitary plastic crib in a small space and seemed to be unharmed. She was still in this lab, which was good luck for them. He memorized the location of the security camera before shutting down the image.

_Okay… now to get some answers_. He scrolled through other files on the mainframe, hoping to find something that would give him a clue to what was going on in this lab. Most of the files seemed fairly standard; maintenance reports, supply inventories and other bland documents that the genetics lab would need in order to run properly. The genius turtle chose to ignore these files and consciously looked for key words that would lead him in the right direction.

One file in particular caught the genius' eye about three quarters down the list. It was a particularly large file, about ten gigabytes of data. The title underneath the file folder icon read 'Project Rebirth'. Donnie raised his eye ridges in interest as he contemplated the file name.

"This looks promising," he mumbled to himself as he clicked on the file. Thousands of documents flashed across the monitor. Donnie's eyes perused through the various documents, noting that they included medical reports, experiment trial logs and other scientific documents. He scrolled back up to the top of the list and double clicked on the most recent document published. It was a report that was sent to the president of the company, and was titled 'Progress Summary: February 14'.

_It's as good a place to start as any._

He leaned forward and began reading the report, resting his elbows on the desk as he scanned the laptop screen carefully. It was seemingly written by this ever present Dr. Salonga and the document listed information about the physiological and cognitive progress of the test subject only referred to as GE0932 as of the day that the document was written. It also listed the various compounds and treatments that were being administered to the test subject and the effects that they had on her body and mind. Some of the treatments included prolonged exposure to different frequencies of gamma radiation and various gene stabilizers to keep her body from rejecting the serum encoded in her DNA.

The more he read, the more disturbed Donnie became. _God… is this what Emma had to live through? No wonder she hates my lab so much… _His stomach twisted in disgust as he read over the specifics of the process for a second time. He exited the report with a shudder and clicked on a medical report, then an experiment trial log, scrolling through each document with a growing sour taste in his mouth. Within a few long minutes, he felt like he had a fairly good idea of what 'Project Rebirth' was trying to accomplish. _Goddamn these monsters to hell… _

Donnie's hand tightened over the mouse in indignation. So much pain and suffering, and for what? A perfect specimen of humanity? It wasn't worth the lives of Miriam, Casey, April or Emma. No… it wasn't worth it at all. These animals were overreaching their scientific limits; tinkering with the human genome in ways that weren't natural. This made Donnie very angry; even more than the fact that they were planning on using this knowledge as a weapon. That they were planning to make Emma into a weapon to use against innocent people.

It was very clear to him what he needed to do: destroy the files so that they can't duplicate this process ever again. He knew that he could plant a virus into the computer files that will completely fry the entire system beyond repair very easily. He had to make sure that no one else was going to get hurt because of this damned project.

His fingers hovered over the keys, ready to implant the virus, but his overwhelming scientific curiosity stalled his movement. A nagging voice in the back of his expansive brain urged him to find out all that he could about the project that had given Emma life. To find out why. Allowing his need for knowledge to dictate his actions, he hit a series of keys, commanding the system to download the file onto his laptop. Donnie hoped that his hard drive could handle all of the information that he was loading into it.

He typed more desperately, hoping to clear off some unneeded data in order to make room for the incoming information. The old specs of his outdated projects could go, along with some of the unfinished Super Robot Mecha Force Five fanfiction transcripts that were saved on his hard drive. _This is worth the sacrifice. _A green load bar popped up on his screen and slowly began filling up. Ten percent of the download completed. Donnie stared at the screen, willing it to go faster.

He stiffened and his warm brown eyes widened in astonishment at the pressure of the cold muzzle of a gun pressed against the back of his head.

"Don't move, monster," a deeply accented feminine voice warned, her voice dripping with venomous disdain.

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><p><strong>Announcement: The 2014 TMNT Fanfiction Competition is upon us! It's hosted by stealthystories, a TMNT fanfic website, and I hear that it is all kinds of fun! I put the address to the site on my profile if you want to go check it out and you can find the dates and rules for the competition there too! If you're interested in participating, please go check it out! <strong>

**Thanks for reading! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone! Thanks to everyone for their support and kind words of encouragement! It is really wonderful to hear from all of you, so if you have time to leave a review, please do! Also, don't forget to go check out the details for the TMNT Fanfic Competition! The nomination period is going to be starting soon and I can't wait to get started! **

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><p>Donatello didn't dare move. He sat very straight in the office chair, his fingers quivering slightly as they hovered over the keyboard. His analytical mind searched through several different possibilities of escape as he stared at the download bar on his laptop screen. It showed that the file was twenty-five percent downloaded, and the green icon was crawling along at a painstakingly slow rate.<p>

"Close the computer." The mysterious woman ordered tersely.

Donnie hesitantly raised his hands and shut the lid of the laptop with as much as care he could manage.

"Turn around, slowly."

The pressure from the gun relaxed on his scalp, allowing him access to swivel his chair toward the source of the voice. The woman who stood before him looked like she had seen better days. She had large purple bruises running up her jaw and along the side of her face, as well as a deep gash in her lip that had been stitched up recently. Both of her eyes were blackened and there was a large adhesive bandage draped over the bridge of her nose. She curled her lip in disgusted rage as she glared down at him, as if something about his face just pissed her off.

Slowly, he stood to his full height and raised his hands in defense, making an effort to maintain a neutral expression. At his movement, the woman chambered a round and brought the gun back to within inches of his face. Donnie swallowed hard, trying to keep his body from trembling. After all the years of fighting crime in New York, he had found that he really hated guns. Especially the ones that were aimed and ready to put a bullet in his brain.

"Don't make me shoot you, monster." The woman threatened menacingly, her eyes on fire.

"What's stopping you?" he challenged, hoping that his voice wouldn't crack under the pressure.

She ignored his question, grinding her teeth in what Donnie perceived to be pain. Whoever had given the woman the bruises must have laid into her with a really heavy hand.

"Where are the others?" she inquired directly. Donnie's breath caught as his heart jumped into his throat. _Shit…_

"What others?" he parried, hoping to stall for time. The look on the woman's face told him that she wasn't buying his feigned ignorance and that her patience was quickly running out.

"Cut the bullshit. We saw the surveillance video of three turtles entering the building and of you going off on your own. Where are the other two?"

Donnie wracked his brain for a quick solution. He could only fixate on one idea so he decided to run with it.

"Do you have any idea of what these people are doing here?" he asked quickly, hoping to distract her from the subject of his brothers.

The question made the woman pause, her gun hand wavering a fraction as she seemed to consider.

"Sort of," she admitted shortly, "The girl has abilities that are beneficial to my employer. He needs her to protect his government from future rebellion, and the laboratory is going to help her develop her abilities on his behalf. That is all that I need to know." Her bruised jaw was set in determination as she adjusted her grip on the gun.

"Do you know _how_ she got those abilities?" Donnie asked, pressing the issue on her. "These… these monsters pumped her system full of a gene altering serum before she was born. They're going to _keep_ pumping her full of that shit until she fully develops into a genetically modified super human. It's going to be a slow, painful process and it's possible that she won't reach her 'full potential' until she's twelve years old." He used his fingers to make 'air quotes' around the words 'full potential'.

The woman blinked at this, giving Donnie some hope that he was getting through to her. She could potentially be a powerful ally, if she could be convinced to help them.

"You know what else?" he continued, "They're planning to condition her to be a perfect soldier; to follow orders without question, to kill indiscriminately, to be a controllable monster. That's the life that she's going to be forced to live. She's never going to get the chance to be a normal little girl. Is _that_ what you really want to happen? Can you really live with that on your conscience?"

A flicker of doubt danced across the woman's brown eyes for an instant.

"I…" she started uncertainly, her face awash with conflicting emotions. It seemed as if his words were starting to have a real effect...but it was only a fleeting impression. In the next moment, her resolve returned, masking the uncertainty and her eyes narrowed menacingly.

"None of that is my concern, monster. I will do my job, no matter the cost," The woman said coldly, steadying her hand as she spoke, "Besides, the girl will adapt and survive, if what you say is true. She will be fulfilling her purpose for living and will be greatly rewarded for it."

With a sickening thought, Donnie realized that this woman wasn't going to be swayed by pity or convinced through reason. It seemed that she only spoke one language: brute force.

_Well, if that's the way she wants it…_

Before the woman could bat an eye, he quickly smacked her in the ears with the heels of both hands, disorienting her momentarily. She stumbled a step, grabbing her bruised jaw and gasping painfully. Raising the gun blindly, she fired once in his direction. Donnie dodged the shot with a backflip, allowing the bullet to embed itself into the wall behind him.

He used the distance to his advantage and drew his bo staff, spinning it defensively. He sliced at her gun hand, knocking the weapon from the woman's grasp. The gun skittered across the office floor and came to rest against the farther wall. Spinning the staff again, he swung it under her feet like he were swinging a golf club, sending her falling forward towards the heavy metal desk.

There was a sickening crack and a heavy thud as the woman fell to the floor. Donnie spun and raised his staff defensively, the adrenaline in his system making his ears pound with a rapid, heavy cadence.

"You… had enough?" Donnie asked breathlessly as he gripped the staff tighter. The woman lay sprawled on the floor, her arms and legs arranged in unnatural angles. He frowned as he warily stepped closer.

"Hey? Did you hear what I said?"

There was no answer. No sort of movement. Nothing.

A sense of dread quickly overcoming his senses, he reached down slowly and turned her over onto her back so he could see her face. The woman's eyes were wide open, her lips pulled back from her teeth in a silent snarl of surprised pain. There was a deep gash on her right temple and a stream of blood was trickling down her face, pooling onto the cold granite floor. Donnie's heart seized and his stomach lurched in disgust and horror as he spied the blood and hair that covered the sharp corner of the desk.

"No… no, I didn't…" he stammered incoherently as he stared at the gruesome visage before him.

He pushed a few strands of her hair aside and gently pressed his fingers to her throat, searching for a pulse. Nothing. _The blow must have killed her instantly_, he surmised in his mind, _God, she didn't even have time to cry out… when I…_

Donnie stumbled away from the body and sank to his knees in front of the desk. He leaned forward and vomited on the carpet, trembling violently as he retched. When his stomach was empty, he dry heaved for a few moments before covering his head with his hands. _Oh God… Oh God, what have I done? _

He breathed heavily for a minute, desperately trying to pull himself out of the panic attack he could feel coming on.

"Pull yourself together, genius," Donnie murmured to himself, rocking on his haunches, "You've got to get to your brothers. You've got to get Emma out of this hellhole. Pull yourself _together_, damn it!"

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he stood shakily and dropped heavily back into the office chair. He pushed the lid of his laptop open and glanced at the green download bar on the screen. The 'Project Rebirth' file had completely downloaded onto his hard drive in the interval, with a few megabytes to spare.

Carefully keeping his eyes averted from the woman he had killed, he began typing on the keyboard, accessing the consuming computer virus. A cartoonish icon of a skull and crossbones, laughing maniacally with a 'DANGER' warning appeared and covered the screen, asking if he were sure he wanted to wreak this kind of havoc on the hard drive. Donnie clicked the 'OK' icon, unleashing the virus into the genetics lab's mainframe.

_This should completely fry everything. There should be nothing left of Project Rebirth for them to salvage. _Donnie quickly unplugged the cable from the computer tower to ensure that the virus did not make its way into the laptop's hardware.

"_Donnie? We found Mikey. Come in, Donnie."_

Donnie blinked at the sound of Leo's soft crackling voice, momentarily at a loss at to where it was coming from. He looked down distractedly at the communication link that had fallen onto the floor near his foot, a little uncertain of when he had dropped it. With trembling fingers, he scooped it up and replaced the com link before hitting the transmitter button.

"I'm here, Leo."

"_Where are you? Did you find out where Emma is?" _Leo's voice sounded relieved and anxious at the same time.

"I'm in one of the offices, and yes, I found Emma. She's here in the lab, in the northern wing." Donnie reported as he started replacing his equipment hurriedly into his bag. _They're going to notice she's gone at any time and come looking for her. _He had to get out of there… now.

"_You ok, Donnie? You sound really freaked out." _Donnie hesitated at his brother's astute observation.

"Ran into some trouble, but… it's taken care of…" He winced at his wording, his eyes wandering unconsciously to the dead woman's face.

"_What are you talking about Donnie?"_

"One of Kinder's people found me. I- I knocked her down, and…"

His voice faltered and fell away, ashamed of his admission. There was a pause on the line for a moment, the only sound audible was Leo's dismayed breathing.

"_You… you killed someone? _Leo asked, the horror evident in his disembodied voice. Donnie's heart twisted in guilt at the truth being said aloud, especially by his older brother.

"_He did what?!" _Raph's and Mikey's disbelieving voices came through the earpiece, jolting Donnie into speech.

"I-It was an accident, but y-yeah… s-she's dead." He choked on the words, feeling the bile rising again in his throat again.

"_God, Donnie… are you alright?" _Donnie wasn't sure what Leo meant by that. Did he mean was he alright physically, or mentally? Either way, Donnie didn't know the answer.

"I'll be fine," he said shortly, zipping the laptop and cords into the bag, "Meet me by the door where we came in. Watch your backs. They know we're here."

Donnie discontinued the radio contact, slipping his bag over his shoulder. He hurried to the door, but stopped with his hand on the handle. Hesitantly, he looked over his shoulder at the prone figure of the dead woman on the floor. She looked so small in death, almost insignificant. In a strange way, Donnie felt sorry for her. Even if she had chosen that path in life, she hadn't deserved to die, any more than Miriam had.

Donnie ducked through the wooden door and started running toward the rendezvous point, hoping that one day, those glazed, accusing eyes would fade from his memory.

* * *

><p>John Liu rarely felt anxiety, but he felt it in abundance as he glided down the hallways of the genetics lab, searching for his protégé. His long black duster swished around his feet in waves with each quick, purposeful step. Aleska hadn't returned in the time that she had promised, so Liu decided to leave the security office on the first floor to back her up.<p>

About an hour ago, they had received a call from the chief security officer, reporting to have seen the turtles entering the building through a skylight on the roof and that they had split up in the hallway outside of one of the storage rooms.

The two embassy enforcers had quickly descended to the security office to see the surveillance video for themselves. They hovered over the monitors as the security officer rewound the footage and watched with fascination as the turtles with the red and blue masks disappeared from of the cameras' view, while the turtle with the purple mask had gone off alone and broken into one of the doctors' office.

Aleska had then turned to Liu and insisted on bringing in the lone turtle herself, pleading him to let her handle this. He had seen the fierce intensity in her eyes, the desire for validation. One of the mutants had beaten her and she wanted vengeance by destroying one of its kind. This was something that Liu understood that all too well, so he had given in, allowing her to go and confront the turtle on her own.

When he came to the office where the turtle had been seen breaking in, he slipped his gun out of its holster and chambered a round. Gently, he typed in the access code with a ringed finger and the lock turned green as it gave him access.

He silently turned the handle and poked his head into the office, keeping his gun at the ready, prepared for whatever may be lurking in the shadows. The air felt heavy and smelled putrid, like a hospital sick ward. The light from the sleeping computer shone morosely on a small crumpled form on the floor at the corner of the desk. The figure's ample curves were illuminated by the electronic light, which turned the auburn hair a ghastly shade of white.

"Aleska?"

She didn't answer, not that he had any hope that she would. Liu recognized death when he saw it. He entered the office and closed the door after him, extinguishing the light from the hallway.

Kneeling down next to the still form, he inspected a corner of the desk where blood and hair were caked. Tenderly, he pushed the hair back from her round face, looking over the corpse that had once been Aleska Kowalski. The shadows cast from the computer monitor made her face look hollow and skeletal; as if she had already been taken by the Reaper himself. He touched her throat, searching for any sign of a pulse. Everything was still.

Her body was still warm to the touch, telling Liu that she had died not long ago. He had probably just missed the animal who had done this by a few minutes. He could see the it in his mind's eye: tall and gangly, with a purple mask and a six foot bo staff strapped to its back.

Liu gently passed a hand over Aleska's glazed eyes, shutting the lids and giving her more of a sleep like appearance. A cold, constricting sensation clutched at him as he glared at the crushing wound to his partner's skull. _This will not go unnoticed… _

Slowly, he rose to his feet, glancing around the vacated office. He smirked at the hole in the wall from a wayward bullet. _At least Aleska got a word in edgewise, _he thought ruefully. The gun in question was across the room, forever useless to its owner. Otherwise, there was not much evidence of a struggle.

A mess of sludge was smeared on the floor in front of the metal desk. Liu wrinkled his nose as he glanced over the mess and his mind began piecing together the clues. The creature had gotten violently ill after killing Aleska, as if it had felt some remorse. He sneered at the thought and at the creature's weakness.

_So, these monsters want to play dirty. Fine._ Liu was prepared to throw down the gauntlet. He checked his pocket quickly, assuring himself that he hadn't left his 'souvenirs' in the security office. _Good, I wouldn't want this to be over too quickly. _They had taken his partner, so he would destroy them all.

Liu quickly left the office, shutting the door firmly after him and entombing the dead woman within. He started walking to the one place that he knew the mutants would go: the room where the little girl was being kept. A cold, predatory smile spread across his smooth face as he envisioned himself tearing down the turtle monsters one by one, savoring the destruction and the satisfaction that came with it. He had already decided that the purple one would die last. It would not be as fortunate as Aleska had been.

Liu figured vaguely that he would have to apologize to Kinder later, because frankly, there wouldn't be much of the monsters left to experiment on by the time he was done with them.


End file.
